What is a domain name and how do you choose one?

The domain is the name your business goes by on the internet. It’s what your customers type to find you, it’s printed on your business cards and it comes after the @ in your email address. Choosing it well is one of the first decisions when you build your website, and it’s worth taking your time over it.

How it works

Every website is hosted on a server that has a numeric address, which is hard to remember. A domain works like a contact in your phone: you type a name and the DNS system looks up the number that goes with it.

The parts of a domain

In yourbusiness.co.uk, “yourbusiness” is the name you choose and “.co.uk” is the extension. Extensions fall into a few families.

Generic extensions

These are the best known, like .com, .net or .org. They can be used in any country, and .com is still the one most people type out of habit.

Country extensions

They stand for a country, like .us, .uk or .ca. They tell your customers, and search engines too, that your business operates in that market.

Subdomains

These are offshoots of your main domain, like shop.yourbusiness.com. You don’t need to register them separately, and they let you split off sections or services.

Who manages domains

Globally, coordination is in the hands of ICANN, a non-profit organization. On top of that, each country extension has its own registry: in the UK, for example, .uk domains are managed by Nominet.

How to choose a good domain

• Keep it short and easy to remember.
• Make sure it’s clear when you say it over the phone, with no need to spell it out.
• Avoid hyphens and numbers, unless they’re part of your brand.
• Make it the same as your business name, or very close to it.
• Make sure it can’t be confused with another well-known company’s domain.

How to register it

1. Check whether the name you want is available.
2. Pick the extension that best identifies your business.
3. Register it in your own name or your company’s, and keep the login details safe.
4. Turn on auto-renewal so you don’t lose it through an oversight.

Domain and hosting are not the same thing

If the domain is the address, the hosting is the house. They’re different services that you can get from the same provider or from different ones. What matters is that the domain points to the place where your website is hosted.

Frequently asked questions

Do you buy a domain forever?

No. You actually rent it for a period, usually a year, and then renew it. If you don’t renew it, it becomes available and someone else can register it.

Does the domain affect Google rankings?

A little. A clear domain helps people remember it and click on it, but what matters most is the content and quality of your website.

How do I know if a domain is already registered?

Every registrar has an availability search. If the name is already taken, it suggests alternatives with other extensions.