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One of the main things people ask me about when it comes to blogging and digital marketing in general, is how to register a custom domain or URL! No wonder - it's one of the biggest considerations when it comes to building a website. It is in fact quite a simple three step process which I have outlined below.
STEP 1:
The first decision is choosing what URL to register. A handy tool in South Africa is called Who Is - it allows you to see if a domain is available and if not, who owns it.
There is also an American version for .com domains, also called Whois.
For Namibia, it is possible to see who some .com.na domains belong to using Whois.net , however this appears to only work for certain domains.
STEP 2: The second thing to consider is which service provider to use, and I always recommend GoDaddy. Most .co.za domains cost about $9.99 / year, or R125 a year; and most .com domains about $12 a year, or R150 a year (both are billed annually).
This makes it affordable to register a domain even if its for future use, or multiple, similar domains to ensure that someone else doesn't register a domain similar to yours and mimic your website. However, the price can ramp up quickly if you want fancier "extensions" like .digital or .design or .io.
If you want to use the domain as an email address, i.e. yourname@yourblog.co.za, you can add this on for an additional $24 (R300) or so a year. This is great for making a small business look more professional, and assist you in building your brand!
STEP 3: Depending on what platform you have used to build your website, you then need to "point" the content to the URL you have registered.
Here's how to connect a domain on WIX, but there are step by step guides per platform readily available so fear not. If you don't yet have a website and are a beginner with no coding or design experience looking for a website solution, I do think WIX is a great option explore.
Please comment with any queries you may have - I'd be happy to help you!