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How to Get a Free Domain: Where and How
If you've made it this far, it's because you want a free domain and don't know how to get one. We'll help you, but first a word of caution.
If you’ve made it this far, it’s because you want a free domain, and you don’t know how to get one. OK, we’re going to help you — but our first piece of advice is: DON’T PUT AN IMPORTANT PROJECT ON A FREE DOMAIN. If it’s just a practice project, then there’s no problem.
Table of contents
- Which domains are we referring to as free domains?
- How do I get a .com domain at no cost?
- What is a free domain?
- Advantages of a paid domain
- Can I set up a free domain on a hosting service?
- Registering and transferring free domains
- When is a free domain necessary?
- Which domain extensions are free?
- Do you recommend free domains?
- Why don’t you recommend getting a free domain?
- Could I have email on a free domain?
- Could I have a website or online store on a free domain?
- Are free domains forever?
Which domains are we referring to as free domains?
1st option
Of all the options available on the web, the most popular free domains are those with the extensions: .tk, .ml, .ga, .cf, and .gq, with .TK currently being the most popular extension.
All of these extensions are related to different countries with low internet participation — generally small islands that have used their country code to offer free domains.
2nd option
This is the use of subdomains. They’re intended for learning and testing small projects. Subdomains usually take the form: exampleweb.mihosting.com. Many of them also offer free hosting. They’re recommended for students or testing purposes, but they make no sense for business projects.
How do I get a .com domain at no cost?
The easiest option is by buying it together with your web hosting service. Logically, this doesn’t mean the domain is actually free, but it’s the hosting company that covers the cost. It’s a win-win goal: you get the service at the best possible price, and we gain you as a customer. At miHosting, you can have your website running for a year from $45 with unlimited hosting and a free domain.
What is a free domain?
Before explaining why they’re free, it’s necessary to put into context what a web domain is. Its concept carries significant technical weight behind it, but it can be simplified by relating it to the addresses we use to get from one place to another.
Although the location of a place can be described exactly by coordinates, in everyday life it’s easier to memorize names than a series of numbers. The same thing happens when you want to access a website, where IP addresses are equivalent to coordinates and domains are equivalent to the names of streets and avenues.
That way, when a user wants to access the servers where your website is hosted, they have two options: type the IP address pointing to those servers into the browser, or enter the domain you’ve reserved for your website.
In turn, a domain is divided into two parts. Taking youtube.com as an example, it consists of the website name: youtube, and the extension, which in this case is: .com. When you sign up for a domain service, the IP of your hosting is linked to a web address.
Ultimately, a free domain links your servers to a friendly address for your users — all in exchange for certain limitations such as: ads placed on the URL, lack of ownership, poor search ranking, and limited or non-existent technical support.
Advantages of a paid domain
In the areas where free domains fall short, paid domains stand out — and at a low cost. You get ownership of the domain. A paid domain also shows commitment and seriousness, making your project better received both by people and by search engines like Google. This means all the work you put into SEO will bear better fruit, and for that reason alone, it’s worth spending $9 or $10 a year.
You’ll also get personalized support for the service you pay for. When you hire a domain, it’s possible to resolve issues with redirects, access email services, and have the company offer hosting plans at competitive prices.
For that reason, most users prefer to pay for the hosting and domain of their website. At miHosting, we offer a free domain + unlimited hosting plan that costs only $45 per year — a package chosen by the majority of users who need good search engine ranking.
Can I set up a free domain on a hosting service?
Yes. Both at miHosting and at all web hosting companies, you can install any domain on which you can set the DNS. This is the essential factor. If you can set our DNS, then you can host the domain on our servers.
Registering and transferring free domains
Free domains (.tk, .ml, .ga, .cf, and .gq) cannot be transferred. Basically, this is because you are not the owner of those domains. They simply let you use them. And that in itself is a major risk. It means that if, tomorrow, whoever lets you use it no longer wants you to, you’re left without a domain.
But in any case, there are users who, due to their circumstances, need to register a free domain. In that case, you should go to dot.tk to register your domain.
When is a free domain necessary?
Really, never. But the most common users are students or people running tests. When used for serious purposes, they’re generally tied to criminal activities (password theft, malware, phishing, spam, etc.). In other words… a crowd you’d rather not be associated with.
Which domain extensions are free?
Do you recommend free domains?
Generally, NO. If your website is just a test and you don’t want to spend money, then yes — but if you want to set up a website that constitutes a serious project, then NO.
Why don’t you recommend getting a free domain?
Because you will never be the owner of the domain, and you’re at the mercy of the company that lets you use it. This is a nuance we believe makes a big difference. So you understand it better: we would never have put our website bacan.com on a bacan.tk domain. With bacan.com, we own the domain; with bacan.tk, we would never own the domain and would be at the mercy of Freenom’s whims. In fact, we don’t know of any major project hosted on a free domain.
Let me give you a simple example. If mihosting.com were a free name, would you feel comfortable and secure hosting your websites with us? I don’t think so.
Could I have email on a free domain?
Yes. In fact, you can have email with any type of domain. This depends more on your hosting service than on your domain. If you host any domain at miHosting, you’ll always have email available.
Could I have a website or online store on a free domain?
Yes. A free domain gives you access to publish a complete website for any purpose, whether personal or professional.
Are free domains forever?
As we’ve indicated, when you get a free domain without paying anything for it, you are only a user of the domain. You are not the owner, so the owner will let you use it until they decide not to anymore. This is, in fact, one of the reasons we don’t recommend free domains for serious projects.
It’s also true that a free domain can be purchased. That way, you become the owner of the domain and protect your investment.
So, to answer the question posed… it’s hard to guarantee permanence forever when you aren’t even the owner of the domain.