Any Free domains?!

[master game maker]

Gah. I reaaaaally need a website for my games, but yet I can't afford to get a domain...I can't continue with such a long sub-domain, so I was wondering if there are any free top level domains out there? Even if they only last for a month I'd be fine..:P

 

[Tim.]

Well, the only way I know how to get a domain for absolutely no money is through services like Domain Lagoon that get you to answer a bunch of consumer serveys. With Domain Lagoon, you are required to phone in after registration to prove you're a real person (Or from what I've heard, I haven't tried it yet). To my knowledge, it'll only get you a domain for a year, but like you said, even a month is fine...

I feel like such a marketing tool. 

Edit: Perhaps I should've mentioned this a tad earlier, but 'Free Domains' don't always tend to be 100% reliable. I really would just look for a good deal elsewhere first, Domains are dirt cheap these days.

 

[Cruelty]

but yet I can't afford to get a domain

godaddy.com:
SALE! .org $6.99* 
or even better
SALE! .info $2.99*

* Plus ICANN fee of 20 cents per domain name year

i'm sorry, but a 7 year old kid with a 5$ allowance can afford a domain. some things just don't come for free, mr.cheap.


-

btw, watch out with those 'free' domain services where you have to take x amount of surveys and whatnot. theres always ALWAYS a catch. anything from not being allowed to transfer it out of their hosting service, to having to wait x amount of time for activation, to not even having any control at all over it.

 

[Anonymous]

domains are CHEAP AS FUCK just save up like lunch money for a week and you can buy one. my first domain was $2.99 in a sale from yahoo small business (who i still use) so really you should hunt around. even if you don't have a paypal or whatever you can buy a prepaid credit card from walmart or some shit.

 

[Aepriz]

.tk is free ... (but it islows down the site though ..)

http://www.dot.tk/nl/pageA00C1.html

Its a free domain .. if you choose the free one .

 

[Tohsaka]

TK isn't actually a free domain. It's a domain mask, like .co.nr.

Most paid hosting services GIVE you are FREE DOMAIN when you purchase their hosting, so yes, there are free domains. That answers your question.

 

[tensuke]

About Domain Lagoon's free domains:
I have two from them(and a hosting package) and they have been GREAT. I have had them for a little under a year now and I'm loving it. The only problem I've ever had was that there was this one server crash...And uh, everything kind of died...But some people found out how to go back and get their databases/files from the old servers...After that they switched to Cpanel make daily backups so that is no longer a problem. If you just get a domain it will be in your name and they'll have nothing to do with it. If anything, I would DEFINITELY recommend it, it's very good. Also, I have a referral code so that's another reason...>_>
You can also pay with any of the *lagoon services they offer. I hate to whore out my code but PM if you're interested...
/rant
Of course there are plenty of other options for you to choose from. In the free zone, DL is the best I've seen (and believe me I looked).
If you feel like paying, there's a lot of cheap sites, try stuff like Servage or Yahoo. Actually, don't go with Yahoo, they're paid hosting sucks. But if it's only a domain you want, GoDaddy is a pretty good option...

 

[gamingfan1989]

The truth is, is that there are no truly good "free" domains.  The best ones lie at GoDaddy.com.  I got my website, devUP.info, a long time ago for $2.99 (well a dude gave it to me after a project we tried to start failed), which is very cheap for domains.  You can even pay with PayPal, which makes everything so much easier.

 

[kumoKami]

Try domain-lagoon.com or something? Iunno

 

[Despain]

Yahoo has amazing sales on domains. Pretty much what teloch said. It's like between two and five dollars, you could probably afford a yahoo small business domain for a year with the money you find between the cushions on your couch. they're dirt cheap.

Hosting on the other hand is a bit more expensive (understandably), but it's easier to find online for free. I mooched off of people and free hosting services for years before sucking it up and buying my own from Bihira, and it is fucking worth it.

 

[holloway]

Never buy one from GoDaddy- they have stolen a couple of domains before.

I just looked at Yahoo, but its $10, which seems quite steep compared to my usual (idotz.net)

 

[___]

By far the cheapest way to set up web hosting is to do it on your own machine.  If you have anything approaching a reasonable connection and a decent PC this isn't at all difficult.  Get an *AMP platform running (any OS, apache, mySQL, PHP).  Look up for instance xampp for Windows, or if you run linux just install apache, mysql and php and you're all set.  Set your router up to talk to a dynamic IP service of your choice (I like dyndns.org).  Set your desktop up with a static IP in your router and direct services on ports 80 and 443 to it via port forwarding.  That's pretty much it (it's a little harder than I make it sound but it's not the hardest thing I've ever done by far).  There are lots of detailed guides on how to do this step by step out there.
This isn't a permanent solution, however by the time your traffic gets high enough that you need a more capable host you should be getting enough in revenue to pay for it; if you're not running a commercial site you won't likely ever have that kind of traffic.

 

[Despain]

I just looked at Yahoo, but its $10, which seems quite steep compared to my usual (idotz.net)

Once in a while you can catch a Yahoo sale, and domains are like 2.99 for a year. That's what the cool people do. 8)