Every website needs it. It is a calling card for your business. It’s how you let people know you exist. I’m talking about your domain name or your virtual “address”. Your domain name represents your business or brand online and drives people to find you.

Domain names can and should be simple, direct, and easy to remember. And a lot of thought should go into that name. 

Think of every brand you know. More than likely, their domain name is their name followed by dot com. But some brands like Taco Bell can be accessed another way. Did you know you could just type in ta.co and go to their website? It’s clever and simple to remember. 

Once you identify your domain name and purchase it, setting it up is easy. Here are some things to think about when purchasing and setting up your domain.

Okay so you’re set on your business name, now it's time to select a domain name to help people find your website. In some cases, your domain name may be your business name dot com, but if your business name is really long like Dreamscape Studio Photography By Jane then you may want to consider a shorter domain name. 

It’s important to have a unique name to represent your business, but a long domain name can be difficult to remember, the shorter the domain name the easier it will be for clients and for yourself (and the less likely someone will have a typo or misspelling).

Instead of the full business name, Dreamscape Studio Photography By Jane, consider these examples:

• Dreamscapestudio.com
• Dreamscapephotography.com
• Dreamscapebyjane.com
• Photographybyjane.com
• DSPhotography.com
• JaneDoeStudios.com
• JaneDoePhotography.com

Even though these names don't include your company's full name, they act as shorthand and focus on the core elements of your name.

There are many options for your domain extension as well (what comes after the period). From .com to .net to .photography and many many more. When possible, choose a .com domain extension. People are just used to it. It's become second nature to type in a company’s name dot com to find their website. Extensions like .net can be forgotten and .org should only be used for nonprofit organizations. All other types, like .co, .ie, etc. require the customer to remember something unique, instead of what comes naturally (dot com).

If you purchased your domain from a third-party source like GoDaddy, NameCheap, or BlueHost, we can help you connect it to your PhotoBiz account.

Note: The providers listed above may offer a domain for $1 for your first year, but when it comes time to renew your domain name, the price may fluctuate. The average cost for a domain is $19-30/year.

Connecting your domain requires a few simple steps in your PhotoBiz control panel:

1. Log into your account and from the left side menu, click on Domains.

2. You’ll see options for using an existing domain or purchasing one. Select Request a Domain Set Up.

3. Next, you’ll be prompted to add your domain name, this is where you enter your website address.

4. Then you’ll be asked if you have a domain branded email (e.g., yourname@yourdomain.com), and if so how you access it.

1. "No I don’t have an email account with my existing domain" — choose this option if you don’t have a branded email set up

2. "Yes, and I access it via webmail or browser"

3. "Yes, and I access it via Outlook/Mail/Entourage or Mail Software installed on my computer"

1. If you aren’t sure how you access your email, give us a call or start an online chat with our support team.

Once you complete the domain request form, you’ll get a confirmation message and instructions on how to set up your domain servers to point to ours. And we will get your account ready to use your domain name. You should hear from us within one business day.

You can easily use an existing domain name that you have registered with your PhotoBiz account when you're ready to launch your PhotoBiz website. You will need access to your domain name settings to point the domain to your PhotoBiz account. This guide will walk you through the steps of submitting your domain name set up request to get your 4 unique name servers to point your existing domain to your PhotoBiz site.

Once we have set up your domain name in our systems and you have pointed your nameservers to us, you enter the propagation time period. This means the nameservers and domain are trying to connect to one another and let servers all around the world know what to do when someone wants to access your domain name. This can take up to 72 hours, during which you may have intermittent times that your website appears up, you see your previous website or even a domain parked message before your domain name displays your site correctly (and consistently). It can be hard to wait, but it really does just take time for servers all around the world to recognize the change.

You can purchase a domain name directly from PhotoBiz. Yes, it’s true! You can purchase our domain management service right from your control panel. After you do so, then we will work with you to choose the name you desire for your website. There is wonderful simplicity in having everything for your website hosted with us, no third party or extra setup required.

If you already purchased your domain from another provider, you have the option to transfer it to be managed by PhotoBiz. The transfer is a one-time fee of $25. We’ll need your help unlocking the domain from your previous provider, and then we’ll transfer it and get it set up in our system. How long it takes to make the transfer varies by provider, it may take a few days or weeks. The date of transfer will become your domain renewal date. 

If you are ready to transfer a domain name to PhotoBiz, please give our support team a call at 866.463.7620. We can help you get the process started.

If you have any questions about purchasing, connecting, or transferring a domain name, give our team a call at 866.463.7620 or log into your account to start a live chat. We'll be happy to help.