Have you ever considered getting a domain name for your game?

I've considered it, but the cost has always been an issue for me.

 

It's awesome!! I've had one for years now - and with Godaddy, I only pay like $18 a year. It's a wonderful investment and makes advertising especially easy, and putting 'forums' at the beginning or end isn't hard at all. :D

 

I've managed several forum sites over the last decade or so- I highly recommend it.
In one case it helped to go with a 'vanilla' name- that way as the interest fluctuated- the forum sections could be changed to reflect the current interests. Sure, it's a hassle but it's easier than and cheaper than registering a new domain every time things changed.

 

While we do have one on our main site, I don't think its a pre-requiste for a successful forum. I know a few that still do very well using free hosts. In fact I think when we were using the free pHpBB forums we had more than double the membership we have now.

 

I got a vanity tld for my game as our one year "present" and I think it helps with branding. The only problem I've had is that some form validation services don't recognize some of the newer tld, but that problem is easily avoided by using a .com or other longer established tld.

 

It's been a major consideration, although I've had awesome results running just a free hosted game. Obstacles are basically funds. If I run out of money for bills n rent, and can't pay for the domain, the players are without a game for a month. Can't take that risk unless my money matters are more stable.

 

I started as a player/member of my game - and over time inherited the management. When we needed a re-start, the remaining players and I decided on changing from a forum to Nova. Although I was offered complete management of the old website, I opted to purchase my own domain name that was a bit more applicable after debating whether or not I could steal some space from my husband's website.

It's a lot easier to send people to a website with a name that makes sense. The only way I could get to the original forums was by my bookmarks.

 

I always recommend getting a domain name for your RPG, especially if you are looking for running it for an extended amount of time. Branding is important to keep your game running alive!

 

I've had a domain name for a few years now and it does make things a bit easier. When I had my site on Jcink and my wiki on another host, I could make it at least easier to remember how to access them. (Instead of having url for the forum and another for the wiki it was wiki.site.tld... ) Plus it looked more uniform, like they were actually hosted together even when they weren't.

Though I will say it's entirely possible to run your own successful forum without needing a domain. There are enough free forum hosts it can be done. (Or tumblr or whatever to write on.)

 

I am running mine for 7 years and it had never had a domain. It was first on invisionfree, then on jcink domains.

 

I've never had a domain before either, and my currently longest running site has been going for three years.

 

Here's a thought- even though domain hosts- example host gator offer free installations of forum programs- if your forum is already established, keep it- use the domain as a place for branding and archiving.

I'm one of those crazy people who like to archive, get the stories off the forums when they're done and showcase them on static web pages. It's not just about the branding or showcasing, it's also about the size of the forum database. Think about this- the more stories there are- i.e. post count- the larger the database. Taking stories off the forum and moving them to static pages reduces the size of the database.

 

Not necessary, but I do think it shows that your forum is probably not going to die in five minutes.

 

Prior to getting my host I was using the free service at ( http://free.co.nr http://www.freedomain.pro/signup_basic.php?account=free ) - you can get a free redirect on a domain.co.nr of your choosing!

 

I always felt like a game has to be running and active for a while in order to get a domain name. Like giving a domain name to your RPG that's only been running for 6 months might not be a good idea until you know your game can pull through for the long haul.

Perhaps I'm just picky about these things, but I prefer not to "waste" money anywhere I don't have to.

 

While I can totally understand this perspective, a domain can help advertising to help ensure the game will last. There are registrars that offer first year discounts on your domain registration, so depending on which tld you want, there might be an option that's only a few dollars.

 

When I first started with forums, I didn't have my own setup. Now I have my own forum with my own domain. I love having the domain. Probably not necessary, but fun for a sense of identity.

 

It's certainly not a requirement to succeed, but I like having one. I pay about $9/yr for my registration, which isn't a massive cost in the long run, and it's so much easier to remember! I

I don't think players much care, but I like the neatness up in the address bar. Makes me happy.

 

a custom domain is something that i've been considering (and i know how to implement because i've done it for other sites just ironically not my own lol), but i've never really looked into the pricing since i'm a poor college student that has other expenses to be worried about in all honesty

but a consideration for the future, definitely