Free domain VS paid domain, help please!

The things you post on free domains doesn't belong to you. And if your site grew, ultimately you may need to get a paid domain to run the business.

If money is an issue, you can look for domain registration code for godaddy ... $0.99 domain for a year

For hosting, you can get a cheap shared hosting like host gator etc.

Another reason of getting a paid website is also for selling the website in the long run.

with paid domains you own everything so if your site was to start making good money
you wouldn't have to worry about your site getting deleted

Free domains do have there place but i would never put much time or effort into them because of the risk of them getting deleted

I think they probably do, Adam, because normally the only free domains you can get are things like ".tk", which certainly don't rank well overall (apart from maybe in Tokelau). The rest tend to be subdomains, not domains. Things like .co.cc "domains" are actually subdomains.

All the top-level international domains (and three of the formerly geotargeted ones: .tv, .co and .me) are exactly the same in Google for all SEO/ranking purposes. (I don't know about other search engines). And of those, ".info" is typically the cheapest, at around $3.

Well, don't do it on wordpress.com if you have any possible monetization, commercial or even traffic-generating plans for it. Those all contravene the terms of use. Wordpress.com is for "hobby bloggers" only.

Also, don't imagine - as some people do - that "paid domains" are the ones you own, and "free domains" are owned by someone else: that isn't how it works! There are many examples of "paid subdomains" (such as gb.com and uk.com) with which you still don't own the domain, and others of free domain-names (such as .tk) which you do actually own (at least in so far as anyone actually "owns" a domain-name: techincally they're all leased!). Misunderstandings about this subject are quite widespread!

I would not advice anyone to use free domains because you don't own it and you only benefit the owners of it.

I would take the time and pay the small fee to get your own name.

Plus, I would also recommend that you use a .com in it.

Thanks everyone, much appreciated. I was going to set up a free WordPress blog but after seeing this you guys really saved me . I'll buy a new .com domain.

Thanks again everyone!

I would advise buying a paid domain, since it will increase the perceived value of the website. For just $10 a year, it's the choice to go with. Also hostgator is just a few dollars a month.

Its all about paid Domains.To use unpaid is a Bad Business decision with regards to having sole control over your asset!

When you have your own domain and hosting, you're able to control the content on your own site and able to promote whatever you want to. Also, the free version of Wordpress doesn't allow affiliate links the last time I checked. You're also able to build a list of targeted buyers in conjunction with getting traffic from the search engines.

Over time, you're site will gain authority in the search engines, and it will become really easy to outrank other sites in your niche. Finally, if you ever decide to do so, you could sell your site for a lump sum of cash. I recommend that you start a site on your own domain in a really profitable niche that you have an interest in and know something about rather than using a free one.

Good luck,
Joey

I would never go with a free domain. I doubt a free domain will even rank. I would even be hestitant getting a .net. I stick with .com.

I would always go with a paid domain.. They are so cheap these days that there is no need to get a free one, if you simply google Godaddy coupon code as i always do you can pick up a domain for about $3-$5..

Hope this helps