BlueHost is one of the leading web hosting providers in the market today. It offers a comprehensive range of features and a world class customer support not comparable with other web hosting provider that may offer the same range of features but lacks in performance, reliability, and hosting stability.
A hosted web site is much better compared to a WordPress based site mainly because it can stay up to date when it comes to PCI compliance, purchasing SSL certificates, and staying up to date when it comes to state laws about data securing even non-US legislations on similar issues.
Among the best features of BlueHost that other web hosting company does not have include free domain for one year. For as long as the domain name is the primary domain you will use for your hosting plan, you will get it for free.
There is indeed a big difference when it comes to the amount of work you need to put in making a newly created domain popular to investing in an already popular domain.
First of all, creating a new domain entails a lot of effort on research alone because you need to come with a domain name that is unique and mind catching. In today’s internet world, it is very hard to come up with a keyword based domain name that is not already taken and registered so you need to muster all your creativity just to make one.
This does not yet includes the effort it will take registering your domain name not to mention employing all known internet marketing strategies just to make your domain ranked in the search engines such as Google and Yahoo.
As the saying goes, this is just the tip of the iceberg because just to make your domain recognized by search engines means you need to work on it real hard and make sure it is optimized enough if you want to attract your targeted market volume.
Simplifying Domain Registration
If you can get a free domain for one year just like what BlueHost is offering, you are also simplifying the laborious task of domain registration. When you invest with BlueHost’s web hosting plan, your work is greatly diminished and you do not need to invest more effort on simply getting your domain registered and ranked by search engines.
Popular domains already have the keyword volume that can increase your online presence dramatically but investing on domains with BlueHost means you also get the opportunity to own one with a niche keyword.
Niche keywords that are popular can attract a lot of traffic as well as inbound links that are very important for the success of any websites. Popular domains also have better quality of online traffic as compared to a new one wherein you will still need to develop traffic volume and build links just for it to start enhancing its online presence.
But when you invest in an already popular domain, your work is greatly diminished and you do not need to invest more effort on simply getting your domain ranked by search engines.
Popular domains already have the keyword volume that can increase your online presence dramatically. Investing on successful domains means you get the opportunity to own one with a niche keyword.
Niche keywords that are popular can attract a lot of traffic as well as inbound links that are very important for the success of any websites. Popular domains also have better quality of online traffic as compared to a new one wherein you will still need to develop traffic volume and build links just for it to start enhancing its online presence.
Unlimited Domain Hosting And Domain Transfer
If you have the chance for hosting unlimited domains, you are also widening your chances of effectively controlling multiple websites using a single hosting account. The unlimited domain hosting features offered by BlueHost gives you the power to host multiple domains on your BlueHost account along with your other personal domains.
With just a single account, you can now simplify your website management because you can implement necessary updates and content addition from one control panel. Features like these are certainly big money savers.
And if you use a Bluehost hosting coupon, you can significantly lower the monthly cost to just $3.95 per month and still enjoy a full array of features including unlimited bandwidth, disk space, and unlimited domain hosting and domain transfer among others.
Domain names can be considered as the ‘real estate’ in the internet. If you own a domain with BlueHost that is known traffic generator that pulls tons of traffic every day, then you can expect for tons of dollars when you decide to sell it with the highest bidder.
Domain hosting is one of the fastest growing industries in the internet with the continued growth of buying and selling activities. Web hosting is also growing more popular these days as more and more people start to realize how cost effective it can be for them not to mention the opportunity it presents for owning a particular domain that has quality traffic volume attached to it.
Bluehost Free Domain Tool
Bluehost offers free domain name to all beginners on their hosting plans.
You can start on Bluehost with a free domain name. You will be offered Bluehost free domain when you sign up for a qualifying hosting plan.
Get started by entering the domain name that you are looking for and you will be taken to the Bluehost website indicating whether the domain name is available for you to register.
The best part is that Bluehost will automatically suggest other similar domain names if your primary choice isn't available. This includes suggesting domain names with other popular extensions that you might be interested in.
How to claim Bluehost Free Domain Name?
Step 1: If you are new to Bluehost, start by searching for the domain name using the tool on this page.
Step 2: Alternatively, you can get started with a discounted link, choose a hosting plan and you will be presented with an option to claim your free domain name. You can also select different extensions (such as .com or .blog) to find the ones that are available.
Bluehost Free domain for life
Free domain for life was a previous feature available on Bluehost.
If you have a standard account created before 22 February 2011 (22/2/2011), you are eligible to maintain a Bluehost free domain for life.
How To Get a Free Domain Name Using Bluehost
Bluehost is the best way to get a free domain. In addition to a domain name, you’ll also need to host your website online. Bluehost ranks first on our list of the best web hosting providers.
When you sign up for hosting with Bluehost, you’ll get a free domain. You’re essentially killing two birds with one stone, and one of those birds is free.
I’ll walk you through the step-by-step process of getting a free domain name with Bluehost.
Step #1: Go to Bluehost.com
The first thing you need to do is visit the Bluehost website. When you get here, you’ll see several different menu navigation options. One of those menus says, “Domains.”
Do NOT go to the “Domains” page
.
This is a common mistake. Since you’re looking for a domain name, this would seem like the logical place to get it. But if you take this route, you won’t get your domain for free.
Instead, click on the “Hosting” menu.
Bluehost offers three different types of web hosting; shared hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated hosting. All of these come with a free domain for one year.
If you’re launching a new website from scratch, and you’re interested in a free domain name, shared hosting will be the best option for you. The other hosting types are more expensive and provide resources you likely won’t need right now.
Step #2: Select a Web Hosting Plan
Once you land on the shared hosting page, you’ll still have options to choose.
Bluehost has four different shared hosting plans. Here’s a look at the different price points for each of those plans:
I’ll give you a quick overview of the features and benefits of each plan to help you decide which one is the best for your website.
Basic
Host one website with 50 GB of storage
Unmetered bandwidth
Free SSL certificate
Five parked domains and 25 subdomains
Plus
Host unlimited websites with unlimited storage
Unlimited domains, parked domains, and subdomains
Spam experts
Office 365 Mailbox free for 30 days
Choice Plus
Unlimited websites and unlimited storage
Domain Privacy and protection
Site Backup – CodeGuard Basic
Pro
Unlimited sites and storage
2 Spam experts
High performance
Dedicated IP
For the majority of you, the Basic hosting plan will be your best option. You can always upgrade to another plan down the road as your website scales. Check out our full Bluehost web hosting review for more information about these plans.
Again, you’ll get a free domain name for one year regardless of the plan you choose.
Step #3: Choose a Domain Name
After selecting a hosting plan, you’ll be redirected to the following page:
From here, you’ll have three options:
Create a new domain
Use an existing domain (that you already own)
Create a domain later
If you already know what domain you want, go ahead and search for it in the box on the left side of the screen. Bluehost offers domains with different extensions, including:
.com
.online
.site
.webspace
.space
.tech
.store
.blog
.net
.org
.info
.co
.biz
.us
.club
In most instances, a .com domain will be the only one I recommend. There are two reasons why people consider an alternative domain extension; price and availability.
Getting a .site or .tech domain is cheaper than a .com extension. But in this case, you’re getting a year for free anyways. Price aside, .com domains will be better for the long term success of your website.
Another reason why people consider an alternative extension is if the .com domain is unavailable. For example, if you try to create a domain using quicksprout.com, Bluehost will give you this alert:
Rather than using an alternative extension suggested below, you’re better off coming up with a completely new .com domain. For more tips on choosing a domain, review our guide on how to buy a domain name.
Step #4: Create Your Account
Once you’ve found a domain that’s available, you’ll be prompted to create a Bluehost account. As mentioned above, you can also skip the domain registration for now and go directly to this step. You’ll still get a free domain when you eventually register it.
The account creation is about as straightforward as it gets. Simply fill out the form fields with the required information.
This is all pretty standard stuff. You’ll be asked to fill out the same information on the checkout page of nearly any website.
You cannot get a free domain without creating a Bluehost account.
Step #5: Choose Your Billing Terms
As you continue scrolling on the same page, you’ll need to select the terms of your plan. The price varies based on your term length. Bluehost offers web hosting for 12, 24, and 36-month contracts.
These are the price points for the entry-level Bluehost shared plan:
Basic 12 month — $5.95 per month ($71.40 total)
Basic 24 month — $4.95 per month ($118.80 total)
Basic 36 month — $3.95 per month ($142.20 total)
These rates are only valid for your first contract. Bluehost Basic renews at $7.99 per month.
The 36-month contract gives you the best overall rate but requires you to pay the most upfront when you sign up. This is just a matter of personal preference. Some people would rather pay more to avoid a long-term contract. Others are happy to pay extra today for the best deal over three years.
Step #6: Select Add-Ons (Optional)
Before you enter your payment details and finalize the contract, Bluehost has a handful of extras that you might want to consider.
At a minimum, always get the domain privacy and protection. Without it, your personal information will be listed on a public database.
This includes your name, phone number, mailing address, and email address. So anyone, including spammers, can access it. With domain privacy and protection, this information is hidden from public view.
You could also opt-in for CodeGuard Basic. It handles things like daily backups, automatic monitoring, and one-click version restores. These features are available through other methods as well, such as WordPress plugins.
So don’t feel pressured to get it now.
SiteLock Security Essential is another popular add-on. It covers added malware protection, blacklist monitoring, automated malware removal, file-level scanning, and things like that.
Again, you could always get this extra security at a later time using a plugin or another service.
The final step is entering your payment details. Bluehost lets you pay with a credit card (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express) or via PayPal.
Once you agree to the terms of service, your hosting account will be set up, and you’ll have a free domain name for one year.
Bluehost has a 30-day money-back guarantee. So you can get a full refund on your hosting costs if you change your mind during that time.
Other Ways to Get a Free Domain Name
While Bluehost is definitely the best way to get a free domain name, it’s not the only way. I’ll show you some alternative methods for getting a free domain.
Use a Free Subdomain
Lots of website builders and other services offer free subdomains.
For example, if you use a free website builder like Wix to create your website, you won’t have to pay anything for a domain. However, your site will have a subdomain in this format:
yourusername.wixsite.com/yoursiteaddress
Here’s what that would look like if your Wix username was “My Stunning Website 123” and the domain you wanted was “myblogsite.”
This is obviously not ideal. No credible website has a domain like this. The only time I would consider using this method for a free domain is if you were just experimenting with the free features of the website builder. But overall, this isn’t a viable long-term strategy.
WordPress is another popular option for a free subdomain. It’s not as invasive as Wix.
The format for a free WordPress subdomain is: yoursitename.wordpress.com
You can get away with this for a while if you’re using WordPress to run a small blog or personal site. But you’ll eventually want to ditch the subdomain if you want to establish any sense of authority online.
Domain Registrar Ad Programs (Not Recommended)
There are plenty of domain registrars that will give you a free domain in exchange for running ads on your website. While there is normally nothing wrong with having ads on your site, this is not the best way to do it.
In most cases, you won’t have any control over the ads and their placement. This will not only hinder the experience for your website visitors, but it will also damage your SEO ranking.
Plus, what if your website got one million views? You wouldn’t see a dime from those ads. All you get is a free domain.
If you want to run ads on your website, do it through a legitimate advertising network, like Google. Don’t exchange ads for a free domain.
Free ccTLD Services (Not Recommended)
The web is full of free TLD (top-level domain) services for different country codes (cc). This refers to the extension after your domain name.
So you can register your domain with country codes like:
.tk — Tokelau
.ml — Mali
.ga — Gabon
.cf — Central African Republic
.gq — Equatorial Guinea
You can get these from services like Freenom or Dok.tk. But I strongly advise against it.
Saying this is a sketchy way to get a free domain is an understatement. If you look up reviews on the web about these services, you’ll find nothing but criticism. From malicious ads to adult content and randomly removing the domain, you won’t have a pleasant experience.
Conclusion
Bluehost is the best way to get a free domain name. Just sign up for a web hosting plan, and they’ll give you a free domain for one year.
There are other ways to avoid paying for a domain, like using a free subdomain or joining an affiliate program. But I personally wouldn’t recommend the majority of alternative options.
If you’re thinking about getting a free domain using a random country code from some island in the South Pacific, don’t do it. Saving a few dollars isn’t worth the cost of running a spammy website.
Stick with Bluehost, or check out the best domain registrars for paid alternatives.
Comments