There will be plenty of free and low cost domain registration options, but don’t expect them to have a big impact on the domain registration market.
I’ve had a number of conversations with people over the past month about the idea of free (as in no cost) domain names.
Will some new top level domain applicants give their domains away for free? Will this upend the market for domain registrations?
In short, I think the answers are “yes” to the former and “no” to the later.
First, it’s important to distinguish that there are two types of “free”.
One type is where you get a free domain that is tied to a service. The service may be free, but you are restricted to using your free domain only with that service. An example would be if Google gave free .blog domains but you had to use its Blogger platform with the domain.
To me, that’s not like getting a free domain. It’s like getting a Facebook or Blogger account because your domain is always at the mercy of the service provider.
The other type of free is literally free — just register whatever domain you want at no cost.
This isn’t a new idea. .TK gives away free domains and has found a way to monetize them. (It’s worth noting that .TK has a cost advantage over new TLD applicants in that it doesn’t have to pay 43 cents to ICANN for each domain registration.)
We will certainly see a number of free domain names. (But don’t expect them to be available at .free. There are five applications for .free but none of them indicate they will give domains away for no cost.)
Would this upend the registration market? Would people take a free domain over one that costs $10?
I doubt it.
Free or low cost domains are a good marketing tool. .Info has built a hefty registration base by offering domains at a steep discount (nearly free) for the first year with full registration fees thereafter. .Cn also built (and later threw away) a strong base with 14 cent domain registrations.
But many people who take advantage of these offers use the cheap registrations as throw away domains, sometimes for nefarious purposes. Indeed, offering free domain names comes with risks.
I think the prospect of free domains changing the registration market is overblown. There will be plenty of free or nearly free domain options. They will compete well against each other and non.com and non.ccTLD domains.
But at the end of the day, people aren’t going to let $10 get between themselves and the domain they really want.
John UK says
I am going to give my domains away for FREE ,but only on basis they sign to take my webhosting package at $50k a year .At end of day ,yes some mug punters may fall for it but not many. What I would be more concerned about is what invention supersedes domain names as we know them. I have an idea …
Todd says
Not sure why you would want to brand yourself on someone else’s domain.
@Domains says
I think you hit the nail on the head. Free domains might happen, but you’ll have to use the service of the company giving you the free domain. Google likely won’t give you a free domain if you’re going to use another company for hosting and website.
And there are already ways to get a free webpage or site builder or blog, along with a free subdomain for it, and that’s been around for 10+ years.
Gene says
This is the classic ‘razors / blades’ model; the firms that can afford to give the names away will do so, with the knowledge that there will be huge upsell opportunities once you’re locked-in. And they’ll probably go the ad-sponsored route as well, i.e., when you log-on to manage your services you’ll be hit with ads, unless you pay not to be.
Mike says
Free = Cheap
…..and so goes the appearance.
Who actually likes surfing a .info domain? Maybe some non-U.S. citizens, but most English speakers don’t trust the extension.
Give them away free and shoot yourself in the foot at the same time, is what will happen.
Adrian Keys says
If it’s free…the extension also has to make sense. Info is free but from my point of view very restrictive. Even at $0, not sure would be inclined to register any…
Nice post too…gives some food for thought!