How to Buy a Domain Name

This wiki page will show you how to buy a domain name for a website.

Table of Contents

Steps

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Go to the domain name registration website. Open a web browser and go to a domain name registration website. Popular sites include:

GoDaddy.com
Google Domains
Register.com
Squarespace

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Choose a domain name. Use the name that best suits the nature of your site.

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Check if the domain is available. Registration sites often have a search field on their homepage. Enter your desired domain name in this field and press ⏎ Return .

Sometimes some types of domain names will not be available, for example .com, however with .net, .biz or .co it will be available.
Some domain extensions only apply to certain organizations: .edu is reserved for educational institutions; .org is used for nonprofit organizations and .gov or .us is used for government websites.

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Select the domain name you want to buy.

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Select the number of years you want to pay for the domain name. Domain names need to be renewed regularly, so you will need to decide how many years to register the domain name.

Normally, you can register a domain name for up to 10 years at a time.

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Select additional services. If you want to purchase additional services, such as web design, hosting, or additional email addresses, add them to your cart before checkout.

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Pay for domains and services. You now own the domain name.

You can now start building your website or move your existing website to a new domain name.

Advice

Depending on the exclusivity, the first domain name selection may not be successful, so it’s a good idea to have some other fallback names ready.
Most major domain name registration sites offer additional services such as web building, as well as email and website hosting.

Steps

Advice

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