One of the key components to building your online presence is to choose and purchase a Domain name. When you a domain name, the provider will ask if you would like to add Domain Privacy. This service usually will cost between $10-15/year for each domain name. This may not seem expensive, but do you really need this added service?
Domain Privacy Protection – Do you need it?
The simple answer is no. But it’s not that simple. It may be worth it to purchase Domain Privacy for you or your business, and here’s why. A domain name is the URL of a website, www.example.com. Check it out: http://whois.icann.org. If you type in a domain name, you may be able to see who registered the domain which includes your full name, home or business address, phone number, email address and the domain registrar. Spammers patrol the Whois database and gather registrant data.
How important is protecting your domain privacy?
Your business phone number, email and address are typically going to be on the internet in other places including your website, on Google and social media pages, so I may not normally recommend domain privacy. But if you are an individual purchasing a domain name, I would highly recommend paying a little extra for domain privacy to ensure that your personal information is kept private. When you pay for domain privacy with a hosting provider, the host information will display in the “Who Is” search, and not your information. If you’re not sure whether you already have domain privacy or not, check with your hosting provider or look up your URL at https://whois.icann.org to see what comes up.
If you need help selecting and purchasing your domains, please contact LP Creative Co. We’re always happy to answer your questions.