It’s back to school! And it’s probably the right time to launch your personal site, with the added bonus of your free domain name! The number of websites continues to increase every year and with them, orders for domain names soar. The prices of the latter vary frequently, because they are notably impacted by two factors: the extension chosen and availability. That said, many hosting services offer their customers free domain names, most often for a limited time (OVH, Hostinger, etc.). Among them, we can notably cite Wix, which offers one of the best website builders today.
Finding the right domain name, yes, but it’s even better if it’s free! Wix understands this well and offers its users several options at no cost. Created in 2006 in Tel Aviv, this WordPress competitor has built a solid reputation. It is notably due to its easy-to-use editor, its numerous quality templates and its packages adapted to a large majority of needs, including e-commerce. Let’s see together how to benefit from a free domain name thanks to the Wix service.
A free domain name on Wix, why?
Having a free domain name has both advantages and disadvantages. Let’s take stock of the issue now.
What is a domain name?
Any business or individual who wants to make themselves known needs a website. This showcase fulfills, in fact, many objectives: highlighting its know-how as well as its activities, communicating with an audience, growing a community, increasing the number of its prospects and sales, etc. With this in mind, the choice of domain name is crucial.
Let’s delve a little deeper into the question and focus on the role of the domain name: the latter is mainly used to name a group of servers (site, messaging, etc.) making it easier to remember but also to share. A DNS is then responsible for associating this name with an IP address, generally composed of numbers. To be used, the domain name must first be reserved with a host or registration platform.
The domain name is the most important element of your website address. It is made up of a name (the one that designates your activity) and an extension (for example, .fr or .com). Sometimes large platforms even use subdomains. The address will then be: https:// + www. + the name of your site + the name of the subdomain + an extension.
You understand, the domain name is unique and will be widely used by visitors to your website. It is important to choose a name that is meaningful, short and easy to remember. But often, others will have had the same idea as you: you will therefore have to rack your brains to find the ideal domain name.
What are the advantages of a free domain name?
The price of a classic domain name, such as .com or .fr, is generally around fifteen euros per year. This price may increase if the extension is rarer or in the case of a domain name repurchase. This is therefore an amount to plan for in addition to the cost of hosting and the costs linked to the creation of your website.
By obtaining a free domain name, you get around this difficulty and avoid having to pay a single cent. Of course, the duration of the free service may vary, so be sure to find out before committing.
What are the limits of a free domain name?
In general, using a free domain name can have several disadvantages:
- The first is temporal: domain names are generally only free for the first year.
- The second concerns personalization: for example, if you use the free Wix offer, your URL will not be completely customizable. In fact, the service imposes a structure of the type: accountname.wixsite.com/siteaddress. A long option, rather generic and unfortunately very unprofessional in appearance.
- Finally, the third limitation concerns your indexing. If you use the domain name imposed by Wix in its free plan, the notoriety of your site will suffer. Indeed, search engines, first and foremost Google, check the consistency of the address with the content of the site as well as the language used in the texts.
Ways to get a free domain name on Wix
There are several ways to get a free domain name on the Wix platform. Here is the information you need to know on the subject.
Free plan
It is entirely possible to create a website for free on Wix. Here is the procedure to follow, step by step:
- Go to the home page of the official Wix website and click “sign in” at the top right of the screen.
- Create an account with an email address, Google or Facebook account.
- Wix asks you a few questions and invites you to select a template for your future website.
- After you customize the template you want, publish it.
- Wix then assigns you a URL which has the following form: accountname.wixsite.com/siteaddress.
Going through the 0 euro formula allows you to obtain a free domain name. However, as we saw previously, the latter cannot be personalized and will be detrimental to the indexing of your site.
In addition, you should know that beyond the domain name, this formula is limited in storage space and bandwidth. It also includes advertisements, an imposed favicon and is not suitable for an online store. This option should therefore only be favored for testing the Wix tool or creating an unambitious personal blog.
Packages including a free domain name
To obtain a unique and free domain name, it is best to go with one of Wix’s premium plans. There are currently six (three for creating showcase sites or blogs and three intended more for eCommerce):
- The Basic Website plan, priced at 10 euros per month.
- The Unlimited Website plan, at a price of 17 euros per month.
- The VIP Website package, priced at 29 euros per month.
- The Business Basic plan, at a price of 20 euros per month.
- The Business Unlimited package, priced at 30 euros per month.
- The Business VIP plan, at a price of 44 euros per month.
By opting for one of these subscriptions, you can choose the domain name you want (provided, of course, that it has not already been reserved by someone else). These packages include, in fact, a voucher to obtain a domain name free of charge for a period of one year. Another package, called Domain Connection, exists but it is used to redirect a pre-existing domain name.
To choose wisely, know that the basic plans are aimed at small projects, while the VIP offers are aimed at people looking for higher performance. They are also entitled to priority assistance.
Use a coupon offering a domain name
Finally, another way to get a free domain name is to use a discount code. While many offer discounts on your orders, others sometimes offer a domain name for 0 euros. There are many sites online that allow you to obtain these codes, so do not hesitate to consult them: you may find what you are looking for there.
The procedure for getting a free domain name on Wix
If you are a Wix customer and have opted for one of its premium plans, here is how to register a domain name for free.
Register a free domain name on Wix
When subscribing to a premium subscription, Wix provides you with a voucher for free registration. It can be used within 2 months. When registering, the host will ask you to choose a domain name. If you choose to wait, you will need to go through the dashboard and connect a domain name later.
The procedure is simple and only takes a few minutes. Wix first provides you with a search bar. The latter is there to allow you to check the availability of your domain name. Once the name is validated, choose an extension (Wix offers a large number of possible extensions). All you have to do is finalize your purchase. The chosen name will be automatically linked to your site for a total duration of one year. At the same time, you will get free hosting and support available at any time.
How to keep your domain name?
Since it only lasts twelve months, it is important to think about renewing your domain name once this time has expired. Depending on the extension chosen and the duration of your commitment (1, 2 or 3 years), the prices will not be the same. Note, for example, that the longer you commit, the lower the price will be.
You can check the set costs at any time by going to your profile, on the “Premium Subscriptions” page. Click “View payment details” to find all the information you need.