Guide to selecting, registering, and securing a domain name including availability checks, registrar selection, DNS configuration, and domain protection.
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Choosing Your Domain Name
Brainstorm 5-10 domain name options
Aim for names under 15 characters — shorter domains are easier to type and remember. Avoid hyphens and numbers, which are confusing when spoken aloud. A domain like 'best-deals-4-u.com' is much harder to share verbally than 'greatdeals.com.'
Check availability for your top choices
Search on any domain registrar's website. About 370 million domains are registered worldwide, so your first choice may be taken. Try adding a short word (get, try, use, my, the) as a prefix or suffix. Check .com first — it still gets 40-50% more trust than other extensions.
Verify the domain has no trademark conflicts
Search your chosen name in your country's trademark database. Using a trademarked name as a domain can result in a UDRP dispute and forced transfer. This applies even if the exact domain was available — trademark holders can claim domains matching their marks.
Check the domain's history for past use
Use a web archive tool to see what the domain was previously used for. A domain formerly used for spam may have search engine penalties that carry over. Also check if the domain is on any email blacklists — being listed can prevent your emails from being delivered.
Choosing a Registrar
Compare registrar prices including renewal rates
First-year prices are often discounted 50-80%, but renewal rates are the real cost. A .com domain typically costs $10-15 per year at renewal. Some registrars charge $20-35 for renewal after a $1 first year. Always check the renewal price before purchasing.
Verify the registrar is ICANN-accredited
Only register with ICANN-accredited registrars. ICANN accreditation means the registrar follows established rules for domain transfers, disputes, and data handling. There are roughly 2,500 accredited registrars worldwide. Check the ICANN website to verify.
Check what's included for free versus paid extras
Essential features that should be free: WHOIS privacy protection, DNS management, and domain forwarding. Some registrars charge $8-12 per year for WHOIS privacy that others include at no cost. Email forwarding is another useful free feature to look for.
Registration and Configuration
Register the domain and enable WHOIS privacy
During registration, enable WHOIS privacy protection immediately. Without it, your full name, address, phone number, and email are published in the public WHOIS database and scraped by spammers within hours. Privacy protection replaces your info with the registrar's details.
Set up DNS records for your hosting
Point your domain to your hosting by adding A records (for IP addresses) or CNAME records (for hostnames). Common records: A record pointing to your server IP, CNAME for 'www' pointing to your root domain. Changes take 15 minutes to 48 hours to propagate.
Add A record pointing to your server IP address
Add CNAME record for www subdomain
Add MX records if using email with this domain
Configure email DNS records
Add MX records for email delivery, plus SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records to prevent email spoofing. Without these authentication records, emails from your domain may land in spam folders. Properly configured email authentication improves delivery rates by 10-20%.
Verify DNS propagation is complete
Use a DNS propagation checker that tests from multiple locations worldwide. Full global propagation takes up to 48 hours, but 90% of users see changes within 4-6 hours. If your site isn't loading after 48 hours, the DNS records likely have an error.
Domain Security
Enable domain lock (transfer lock)
Domain lock prevents unauthorized transfers to another registrar. Without it, an attacker who gains access to your registrar account could transfer the domain in 5-7 days. Most registrars enable this by default, but verify it's turned on in domain settings.
Enable two-factor authentication on your registrar account
Your domain registrar account controls your entire online presence. Enable 2FA using an authenticator app. If someone hijacks your domain, they can redirect your website, intercept your email, and impersonate you. Recovery can take weeks to months.
Set up auto-renewal to prevent accidental expiration
Enable auto-renewal in your domain settings and keep your payment method current. Expired domains enter a 30-day grace period, then a 30-day redemption period (costing $80-200 to recover), then become available for anyone to register. Domain snipers watch for expiring domains.
Use a unique email address for domain registration
Use a separate email address for your registrar account — not one hosted on the domain you're registering. If your domain expires or DNS breaks, you'd lose access to email on that domain and couldn't receive recovery notifications.
Optional: Protecting Your Brand
Register common misspellings and variations
If your domain is important to your brand, register 2-3 common misspellings and redirect them to your main domain. Also consider registering the .net and .org versions. Each additional domain costs $10-15 per year — a small price to prevent competitors or squatters from using them.
Set up domain forwarding for alternate domains
Configure all alternate domains to 301 redirect to your primary domain. A 301 redirect tells search engines the alternate address permanently points to the main one. This consolidates all traffic and search ranking value to a single domain.
Document all domain details in a secure location
Record the domain name, registrar, login credentials, renewal date, DNS configuration, and nameserver settings. Store this in your password manager. If you're hit by a bus, someone else needs to be able to manage your domain. 15% of small business domain issues stem from lost credentials.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to register a domain name?
A .com domain costs $10-15/year at registrars like Namecheap, Cloudflare, or Porkbun. Cloudflare sells domains at wholesale cost with zero markup ($9.15/year for .com). Watch out for registrars advertising $1-2 first-year prices that jump to $15-20 on renewal. Country-code domains (.uk, .de, .io) range from $8-50/year depending on the extension.
What is WHOIS privacy and do I need it?
WHOIS privacy replaces your personal name, address, phone number, and email in the public domain registry with the registrar's proxy information. Without it, anyone can look up who owns a domain and see your home address. Most registrars include WHOIS privacy for free. GoDaddy charges $10-15/year extra for it. If your registrar charges for WHOIS privacy, that alone is reason enough to switch.
Should I register a .com or a newer domain extension?
A .com is still the default people type when guessing a web address and carries the most trust with users. If your .com is taken, .co, .io, and .app are the most recognized alternatives. Avoid .biz, .info, and free domain extensions, which are heavily associated with spam. New extensions like .store or .blog work fine for SEO but lack the instant recognition of .com.
What happens if I forget to renew my domain?
After expiration, most registrars hold the domain in a grace period of 0-45 days where you can renew at the normal price. After that, a redemption period of 30 days allows renewal for a penalty fee of $80-200. Once redemption expires, the domain drops to the open market where domain investors can snap it up within seconds. Expired domains with existing traffic sell for $500-50,000+ at auction.
How long does it take for a new domain to start working?
DNS propagation after setting up nameservers or DNS records takes 15 minutes to 48 hours, with most resolving within 1-4 hours. Cloudflare and other fast DNS providers propagate in under 5 minutes globally. During propagation, some visitors will see the site while others get an error, which is normal. SSL certificate issuance through Let's Encrypt adds another 2-5 minutes after DNS is verified.