Creating a Website: Fresh Domains VS Aged Domains – Which One Is Better?

If you are looking to get into the website investing space and need a site, then you are likely to be struggling with a dilemma; should you start with a fresh domain or an aged domain/expired domain?

They both have their own benefits, so in this article, we will break down –  fresh domains vs aged domains!

HOW CAN I BUILD A SITE?

Before I get into the pros and cons of a fresh domain and an aged domain, let’s first get some basics out of the way, so you can really understand what it takes to build a site from the ground up.

Here’s a quick checklist of what you need to do, to get a site started:

• Register a domain name (or use an aged/expired domain)
• Get the domain hosted
• Install an SSL certificate
• Set up the domain with WordPress
• Design the site using your desired theme
• Decide what categories you want
• Build the site’s structure
• Start publishing your posts

Now, let’s break down each one of those steps!

1. REGISTER A DOMAIN NAME

This will be your very first step. If you are going to use a fresh domain, you get to decide on the name.

However, if you are starting with an aged/expired domain, you are going to have to settle for the name already registered.

However, if you are registering a brand new domain, here are a few things to keep in mind when you are coming up with a name:

1. Think of the brand you want to create
2. Keep the name short and sweet
3. Make sure the domain name can easily be said and spelled.
4. Ideally, use a .com unless you are in a specific country and your target audience is in that country.
5. Try to avoid numbers and hyphens in the domain name as much as possible.

Note: Only some domains you like will be available. So, make sure you create a list with desired domain names and search them on your domain registrar to see if they are available!

There are many, many domain registrars you can use to register your domain name. Here are a few you can use:

1. Godaddy.com
2. Namecheap.com
3. Name.com
4. Domain.com

These are the top 4, but there are many many others out there.

2. HOSTING THE DOMAIN

This is another crucial step you need in order to get your site up and running. Once again, there are many many hosting providers out there, however, some are better than others.

It’s important that you think about the bigger picture when you think of your hosting. Going for the cheapest hosting isn’t always the best option.

You will need to consider the future of your site speed, and hostings can impact that.

Here are the best hostings you can go to for better site speed and many other things:

1. Cloudways
2. SiteGround
3. WPEngine

These are the top 3 hostings, but again, there are many, many others out there.

3. INSTALL AN SSL CERTIFICATE

A lot of website owners don’t install an SSL certificate.

Having an SSL certificate is actually a ranking factor. It’s imperative that your site is safe and secure. Installing an SSL certificate literally takes minutes, so don’t forget to do it!

4. SET UP THE DOMAIN WITH WORDPRESS

These days, setting up your domain with WordPress is super easy. Typically, you can do it via your hosting, with a few clicks.

A few things to keep in mind though is to make sure that your strong password, you can generate a strong password from all sorts of online password generators, and make sure you keep a note of it somewhere!

5. Design The Site Using Your Desired Theme

Choosing your theme can also determine the user-friendliness and speed of your site, so it’s important that you choose the right one.

If you are someone who is just starting out, you will often want to make sure your site looks pretty, so you are more likely to consider the design of your site before anything else.

However, it’s important to think of your users and the SEO-friendliness of your site.

We recommend that you set up your site with one of these 2 FREE WordPress themes:

1. Astra
2. GeneratePress

We have recommended these themes to multiple clients, and they have all seen great results with them.

The themes are on the minimalistic and simplistic side, but they load fast and are user-friendly.

6. DECIDE WHAT CATEGORIES YOU WANT

Depending on the purpose and the niche of the site, you will need a few categories to set up when you are building your site.

Remember – less is more, if you have this grand plan of covering many different things, it’s always best to start with a few, fill them up well with resources and posts, then move on to another. It’s not only good from an SEO perspective, but also from a monetization perspective.

If you stretch yourself too thin with many categories and a few posts, you may not be able to qualify for display advert monetization and even some affiliate programs.

Furthermore, it’s important that you establish a topical authority, covering multiple different things will make it harder for Google to understand your purpose and the main goal of your site.

7. BUILD THE SITE’S STRUCTURE

There are a few ways to build your site’s structure.

You can manually build everything, or alternatively, you can use page builders.

Here are a few of the best page builders:

1. Thrive Architect
2. Elementor

But, once again, there are many many other page builders available.

8. START PUBLISHING YOUR POSTS

Once the domain is purchased, hosted, and WordPress is set up with the theme and categories, you are good to go!

Now it’s time for you to write and publish your first blog post!

LET’S TALK ABOUT THE DOMAIN – SHOULD YOU USE A FRESH DOMAIN OR AN AGED/EXPIRED DOMAIN?

Now, let’s get to the most important part of this article – fresh domains VS. aged domains!

I touched on fresh domains earlier, but let’s break down the pros and cons of fresh domains further:

FRESH DOMAINS – PROS:

One of the perks of using a fresh domain is that you choose the name! For some people, this is very important, as they can register a domain name that works with their brand.

Here are some other pros of fresh domains:

1. You know the history of the domain from day 1.
2. It’s much cheaper to register a brand-new domain
3. You choose the domain name, that works for your brand.
4. It’s trademark free
5. You choose the niche
6. You won’t have to worry about any potential problems you can come to find in later stages, since the domain has not been used previously.

FRESH DOMAINS – CONS:

Fresh domains do have their cons, let’s take a look at what they are:

1. The potential sandbox period
2. Slower SEO results
3. More investment would be required down the line to grow the site and compete with others.
4. You will have absolutely no authority and history with Google.

AGED DOMAINS – PROS

Now, let’s take a look at all the pros of starting out with an aged domain:

1. You start with authority and are ready to compete with others.
2. Some aged domains have some amazing backlinks, that are either impossible to get through traditional outreach, or they are extremely expensive.
3. No sandbox period – search engines such as Google know the domain and trust the domain.
4. If the domain historically had a lot of traffic coming to it, there are ways to get the traffic back, by restoring the pages that were getting the traffic.

AGED DOMAINS – CONS:

1. You don’t get to decide the name of the domain
2. You may run into potential issues, especially with indexation.
3. Aged domains can be very expensive, especially good quality ones with strong backlinks
4. Often times you may have to wait for quite a long time to find an aged domain that fits the niche you want to go into
5. The due diligence process can be long and tedious if you are vetting the aged domains yourself
6. There are quite a lot of technicalities involved, especially when it comes to redirecting and preserving the link juice from certain historical posts.

THE TAKEAWAY:

Both fresh domains and expired domains have their own unique pros and cons.

Starting out with a fresh domain can definitely be much cheaper, to begin with, but you will need to invest later on to obtain the authority that aged domains typically have from the start.

So, whatever your needs and goals are, they are both effective and they both have their benefits, which one you go for, is totally up to you!

Niche Website Builders offer a full end-to-end solution for website investors. We can provide the initial site build, extensive keyword research, and high-quality content written specifically to drive more traffic to your sites.

Whether you are after a fresh domain, or an aged domain, Niche Website Builders can help you!

Get in touch with us for more information!