What is a personal domain?
Personal domains get you online without the hassle involved with setting up a website. How? By letting you easily point your domain to an existing page, from your LinkedIn profile to your YouTube channel or any other site or web page you already have online.
To get started, find the perfect domain name, often your own name or a catchy phrase you like. Once you register a personal domain name, give us the web address where you want people to go — that might be a personal or business profile on social media, or even just a direct link to downloadable files like a resume or portfolio — and we’ll do all the technical work to point your domain to that address.
So instead of a lengthy web address on some other website, people looking for you online can get there by entering your personal domain. And once you get the hang of the basics, your personal domain is perfect for online essentials like professional email — or even use it with a website builder.
What are the benefits of a personal domain?
When people talk about an online presence, they just mean getting online in some manner. Once you secure your personal domain, it's easy to create an online presence. That might simply mean linking your personal domain to a social network profile, rather than making people hunt for you on social media websites.
If you have a resume or portfolio you’d like to circulate but don’t have a website, a personal domain is the answer. Because you can send a personal domain to nearly any place online, it’s a perfect solution if you have documents stored in the cloud. Link them to your personal domain to make them easier to find and download.
Once you set up your personal domain and see what it can do, you’ll be tempted to take the next step. Use it to set up a custom email address based on your domain to add to your credibility. Once you see how easy that is, use it to create a personal website using a website-building platform like WordPress.
When everything depends on your personal brand, use domain name registration to protect it. To keep bad actors from impersonating you online, register a domain with variations of your actual name. With all the available domain extensions out there today, get as many as you can to manage your online reputation.
Why choose GoDaddy?
We understand domains.
GoDaddy is the world’s largest registrar, so we know everything there is to know about domains. We’re entrusted with 84+ million domains, more than any other provider. We don’t take that trust for granted.
We have more options.
We have hundreds of options to choose from for your new personal domain, from classics like .com to more creative domains like .me or .rocks. By customizing your domain, you can stand out from the crowd in the best way possible.
Our award-winning support.
If you have questions, we’ve got answers. Just call our domain experts at (480) 463-8835, and they can point you in the right direction.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a personal domain the same thing as a website?
Not exactly. A personal domain is a web address that allows you to take control of your online identity by directing visitors to any site. Register a personal domain, and then forward it to any website, blog or other pages you control, like your Facebook or LinkedIn profiles. There’s no limit to how many personal domains you can have.
How do I choose a personal domain?
To start, keep in mind that registering a personal domain is the same as any other top-level domain. Your registration will eventually come up for renewal, so choose a term you can afford without risking expiration. Here are a few other ideas and tips to help you register a personal domain:
- Keep it short — A short domain has better chance of sticking in somebody’s mind once they hear it. Which leads us to the next tip…
- Make it memorable — Using your own name or a catchy phrase helps people match a personal domain to you.
- Have a plan — Once you secure your personal domain, don’t just let it sit there. Get online and make your ideas real.
Why should I redirect my personal domain to a social media page?
Pointing your personal domain to your Facebook or LinkedIn pages is a great way to set up an instant online presence, without having to build your own website. You’ll always control what your visitors see when they go there. A personal domain is a great choice for businesses as well. It allows you to control every aspect of your brand — even the address you give to your customers.
You can point your domain to your Facebook page for as long as you like. But once you build your own website, it will need its own domain. You can either stop using this personal domain for Facebook and forward it to your new website or choose a new domain for your website.
Can I use my personal domain for email and still point it to Facebook or another site?
Yes. Your email is connected to your domain, not to the site it’s pointing to. Once you set up an email address on your personal domain, you can change where your domain is pointing, and your email will stay the same.