How to Choose and Register a Domain Name

A good domain name is short, easy to spell after hearing it once, and clearly connected to you. Register it with an ICANN-accredited registrar (or a reseller of one), in your own name, with auto-renew turned on. Those three habits prevent most domain problems we hear about.

What makes a good name

Say it out loud. If you have to explain the spelling, people will mistype it. Try telling it to a friend over the phone and see if they can type it correctly.

Some rules of thumb:

• Shorter is better, but clear beats short. millbrookrunners.org is better than mbrc.org if nobody knows what MBRC stands for.
• Avoid hyphens and numbers unless they're part of your actual name. People forget whether it was "4" or "four."
• Watch out for accidental words when the name is written in lowercase without spaces. Read it slowly.
• Search for the name before you buy it. If another business in your field already uses something very close, you'll be confused with them, and you could run into trademark trouble.

If your exact business name is taken, add a word that describes what you do or where you are: harbortile.com might become harbortileworks.com or harbortileboston.com.

Pick an extension

The part after the dot is the top-level domain, or TLD. There are three broad kinds.

Generic TLDs like .com, .org and .net are the most familiar. .com is still the default people type when they're unsure, so get it if you can.

Country-code TLDs like .uk, .ca, .de or .com.au signal a local presence. They're a good choice for a business that only serves one country. Some have residency or business requirements, so read the rules before you buy.

Newer generic TLDs, such as .studio, .shop or .club, offer more available names. They work fine technically, but check the renewal price carefully. Some newer extensions are cheap in the first year and much more expensive afterward.

What it costs

ICANN, the organization that coordinates the domain system, doesn't sell domains to the public. Registries run each extension and set a wholesale price, and registrars sell to you at a markup. For gTLDs like .com, ICANN also charges a small per-year fee (currently $0.20) that registrars usually pass on.

The .com registry's wholesale price has gone up in small annual steps, and another increase took effect in late 2026. Retail prices at mainstream registrars typically land somewhere around $10 to $25 a year for a .com. Expect occasional price changes, and treat any figure you read, including ours, as a rough guide.

Watch for these traps:

• Very cheap first-year prices that renew at two or three times the amount. Compare the renewal price, not the first-year promo.
• Paid add-ons you probably don't need, like "domain protection" bundles or extra extensions bought to "protect your brand."
• Premium names, which are listed at a much higher price because the registry or a previous owner considers them valuable. The price is shown when you search.

How to register it

1. Search for your name at a registrar. If it's taken, the registrar will suggest alternatives; ignore the ones that are hard to say.
2. Check the full price for the first year and the renewal price.
3. Create an account using an email address you'll keep for years. A personal address at a big email provider is safer than an address on the domain you're buying.
4. Enter accurate contact details. Registrars are required to collect them. For most individuals, the public registration data is redacted for privacy, and many registrars include privacy protection at no charge.
5. Turn on auto-renew and keep a valid payment method on file.
6. Turn on two-factor authentication for your registrar account.

You'll usually have to confirm your email address within a couple of weeks of registering. If you miss that email, the domain can be suspended, so check your inbox and spam folder.

Connect it to your site

Your website builder or host will tell you which DNS records to add. Usually that means changing nameservers or adding a few records in the registrar's DNS settings. Changes often show up within minutes but can take up to a day or two to reach everyone.

Keep it safe

Domain theft and accidental expiry are both more common than people expect.

• Leave the registrar lock (sometimes called transfer lock) on. It stops the domain being moved to another registrar without your approval.
• Keep your registrar account email working. Renewal notices and transfer approvals go there.
• Expect a waiting period before you can move the domain to a different registrar. Registrars commonly block transfers for a period after registration or a previous transfer, often 30 or 60 days. ICANN has been revising its transfer rules, so the exact period depends on your registrar and when you read this.
• If a domain expires, there's usually a grace period to renew at the normal price, followed by a more expensive redemption period. After that it can be deleted and anyone can register it.

Check who owns a domain

ICANN replaced the old WHOIS lookup for generic domains with the Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP) in January 2025. Lookup tools still exist and work much the same way: you can see a domain's registrar, creation and expiry dates, while most personal contact details are hidden. Use one to check your own domain's expiry date once a year.

Questions