How to buy your own domain name (and make sure it stays yours)

Before you have a website, you need an address for it: yourbusiness.com. That address is called a domain.

It's cheap, it takes about 15 minutes, and it's the single most important thing to get right. The reason is simple: whoever's name is on the domain controls it. Your website, your business email, and what customers see when they type your name all depend on it.

So here's how to buy it yourself, the right way.

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1Know what you're buying

A domain is just the address. It's not the website, the hosting, or the email. Think of it like your business's street address: it tells people where to find you, but you still need a building.

A few things to know:

• You rent it by the year. A .com usually costs somewhere around $11–$20 a year. If you stop paying, you lose it.
• It's yours as long as you renew it. There's no "buy once, own forever."
• It's separate from your designer. You can switch designers anytime without changing your domain.

2Buy it yourself, not through your designer

This is the big one. When a designer buys your domain "to make it easy," it often ends up in their account, under their name. If they move on, stop answering, or you part ways badly, getting it back can take weeks, or worse.

A good designer will happily have you buy it and then add them as a helper. (That's how I work. More on that in step 6.)

3Pick a good name

Say it out loud. If you have to spell it for someone, it's not the one.

• Short and easy to say. Customers should be able to hear it once and type it right.
• Go with .com first. It's what people type by default. If the .com is taken, try adding your city or service: smithplumbingtx.com or leaguecitysmithplumbing.com.
• Skip hyphens and numbers. "smith-plumbing-1.com" gets typed wrong.
• Check that it's not someone else's brand. A quick Google search and a look at your state's business records helps you avoid a name that belongs to another company.
• Grab the social handles too, if they're available, so everything matches.

4Choose where to buy it

Domains are sold by companies called registrars. Any big, well-known registrar works. What matters is the renewal price, not the first-year deal.

Here's what to look for:

• Renewal price you're okay with. Some registrars advertise a $1 first year and then charge $20+ to renew. The renewal price is always listed, usually in small print. Read it before you pay.
• Free privacy protection. This keeps your personal address and phone off public records. Most good registrars include it for free.
• Two-factor login. An extra code when you sign in, so nobody else can get into your account.

A few registrars small businesses commonly use: Porkbun (same price every year), Cloudflare (sells domains at cost, with no markup), and Namecheap (beginner-friendly, but check the renewal price). I don't get paid to recommend any of them.

5Buy it, step by step

1. Create an account at the registrar. Use an email you'll always have access to, like your personal Gmail. Don't use an email on the domain you're about to buy. If the domain ever has a problem, you'd be locked out of the account that fixes it.
2. Search for your name and add the one you want to your cart.
3. Skip the extras at checkout. You'll be offered hosting, email, website builders, and "SEO packages." You almost certainly don't need them yet. Talk to your designer first.
4. Put your name or your business's name on it as the owner (sometimes called the "registrant"). Not your designer's, not a friend's.
5. Turn on privacy protection if it isn't on already.
6. Pay, then turn on auto-renew right away.
7. Check your inbox. Registrars send an email asking you to confirm your contact info. Click it. If you ignore it, the domain can get suspended.

6Lock it down and invite your designer

Once it's yours, take five more minutes:

• Turn on two-factor login.
• Keep the card on file current. An expired card is the #1 reason businesses lose their domain by accident.
• Write it down. Registrar name, login email, and renewal date, kept somewhere safe.
• Invite your designer with their own login. Most registrars let you add someone with limited access (GoDaddy calls it "Delegate Access," others call it "sharing" or "team members"). They can connect your website. You stay the owner, and you can remove them anytime.

Never send your designer your password. If they ask for it, ask them to send you an invite instead.

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Mistakes to avoid

• Letting your designer buy it in their name. Even if they're great, it shouldn't be their account.
• Buying a dozen variations. One good .com is enough for most businesses. Add more only if you have a real reason.
• Falling for "your domain is expiring" letters. Some companies mail official-looking renewal notices hoping you'll transfer to them at a higher price. Only renew through the registrar you actually use.
• Ignoring renewal emails. That one email a year matters.