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๐Ÿ”— Get Your Own Domain Name

A domain name is your online address.

Although hosting providers such as Github Pages and Netlify provide you with a free web address, it contains their branding, for example your-name.GITHUB.io or your-name.NETLIFY.app.

Why get your own, personalized domain name?

  • a personalized domain name, such as Bill Gateโ€™s GatesNotes.com, helps visitors find you online
  • adds credibility to your (personal) brand
  • instantly makes your site look professional
  • avoid vendor lock-in with your hosting provider
    • if you use the web address provided to you, you are stuck with that host and cannot move your site to another provider later without changing its address and loosing your audience
    • if your site becomes really popular and GitHub Pages is no longer fast enough, how will you move to a more scalable provider without loosing your visitors?
    • if Netlify suddenly increase the cost of hosting, you may be stuck to pay the increased fees or risk loosing your visitors by changing your web address

Get a personalized domain name

We highly recommend Namecheap for registering a domain, as they provide great value for money whilst providing fast support and free privacy protection.

Using a service like Namecheap provides you with a future-proof solution so that you have flexibility to easily change your deployment provider (e.g. Netlify) in the future without affecting your domain.

To find a good domain that is available, try a mix of your first and last names or initials, with either a .com or .me ending.

Update site configuration

After you have registered your personalized domain, remember to login to GitHub to update baseurl in your config/_default/hugo.yaml with your new URL. Netlify will then regenerate your site with the new URL. Otherwise, if you deploy with another provider, run Hugo to regenerate your site.

Update GitHub Pages

For Github Pages deployments, youโ€™ll need to login to your domain registrar to point your domain to Github, and create a CNAME file in the static folder of your website, so that Github knows your intentions. For more information, check out the domains guide by Github.

Update Netlify

For Netlify deployments, once your domain is registered, navigate to the Custom domains section of the Netlify admin panel and then follow their wizard to assign your domain to your site.

Troubleshooting

As with any new domain, it can take up to around 24-48 hours for global networks to recognize your new address (DNS propagation).

If you experience any issues, contact your service provider - i.e. GitHub Support or Netlify Support.