Websites
How to choose and register a domain name, and what it costs
Pick a short name that's easy to say and spell, check it isn't someone else's trademark, and register it with an ICANN-accredited registrar in your business's name. A .com typically costs about $10 to $23 a year at retail; Verisign's wholesale price rises from $10.26 to $10.97 on 1 November 2026. Watch renewal prices rather than first-year discounts, turn on auto-renew, and keep the contact email current: an expired domain takes your website and email down with it.
Contents
Key points
- The .com wholesale price rises from $10.26 to $10.97 a year on 1 November 2026, plus ICANN's $0.20 fee.
- Compare renewal prices, not first-year prices: some registrars charge a dollar or two up front and much more to renew.
- Register the domain in your business's name, not in the name of whoever builds the site.
- Today, most registrars lock a domain against transfers for 60 days after registration or a transfer.
Your domain is the address of your website and your business email, so it's worth choosing carefully and keeping in your own name. Here's how to pick one, where to register it, what it costs in 2026 and how to avoid losing it.
How to choose the name
- Short and easy to say. If you have to spell it out on the phone, it's too complicated.
- No hyphens or number tricks unless they're part of your brand.
- Close to your business name. Customers who hear your name should be able to guess the address.
- Not someone else's trademark. Search the USPTO's trademark database, or your country's, before you commit. A domain that copies a registered brand can be taken from you.
If the obvious name is taken, a short qualifier usually works better than an odd spelling: your name plus your city or what you do.
Which ending to choose
| Ending | Who can register it | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| .com | Anyone | The default people type; wholesale price rises to $10.97 a year on 1 November 2026 |
| Country endings (.us, .co.uk, .ca and others) | Depends on the country's rules | Good for a business that serves one country; .us requires a connection to the United States |
| .eu | Organisations in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway; citizens or residents of those countries | Useful for businesses selling across Europe |
| .ro | Anyone, from any country | €12 plus VAT a year at RoTLD, the registry |
| Newer endings (.app, .shop, .site) | Usually anyone | Some are cheap to register and expensive to renew |
What a domain costs
A .com typically costs about $10 to $23 a year at retail. The wholesale price, which Verisign charges registrars, rises from $10.26 to $10.97 a year on 1 November 2026, plus ICANN's $0.20 fee, so retail prices are likely to follow.
Two things push the real cost up:
- First-year discounts. Some registrars sell a domain for a dollar or two in the first year and charge $20 or more to renew it. Compare the renewal price.
- Add-ons. Privacy, email and "protection" bundles are often pre-selected at checkout. Most registrars now hide the owner's personal contact details from public lookups at no charge, so check before you pay for it.
How to register it
- Choose an ICANN-accredited registrar, or the hosting company that will run your site and email, if it's also a registrar.
- Search for the name and add it to your cart.
- Put your business as the registrant. Not the designer, not the developer, not an employee's personal account.
- Use an email you'll always read as the contact address. Renewal and transfer notices go there.
- Turn on auto-renew and two-factor authentication for the registrar account.
- Point the DNS to your website and email provider.
What happens when a domain expires
When a domain expires, your website and email stop working. For generic endings such as .com, ICANN's rules require the registrar to let you renew for a period after expiry. After the domain is deleted, most generic registries offer a 30-day redemption period during which it can still be recovered, usually for a much higher fee than a renewal. After that, the name is released and anyone can register it.
Country endings follow their own registries' rules. A .ro domain, for example, goes into a pending-delete status at expiry and is deleted within 90 days if it isn't renewed.
How to move a domain to another registrar
- Unlock the domain at your current registrar.
- Request the transfer authorisation code (sometimes called the EPP or auth code).
- Start the transfer at the new registrar and enter the code.
- Approve the transfer from the email the registrars send.
Today, registrars generally block transfers for 60 days after a new registration or a transfer. ICANN's policy review has recommended shortening that lock to 30 days, but the change isn't in force yet.
When we build a business website, we handle the domain too: we choose it with you, register it and set up email on it. How to pick an email service is in professional email for your business. What else you pay each year, besides the domain, is in how much does a website cost.
Questions
How much does a domain name cost?
A .com usually costs about $10 to $23 a year at retail. Other endings vary widely: some cost a few dollars, and some are much more expensive to renew than to register.
Can I get a domain for free?
Only as part of a package: some hosting companies and website builders include the domain for the first year. Check whose name it's registered in and what renewal costs from year two.
Should I choose .com or another ending?
If the .com is available and reasonably short, take it: it's the ending people type by default. A country ending such as .co.uk or .us makes sense for a business that only serves one country, but check its rules first: .us, for example, requires a connection to the United States.
What happens if my domain expires?
Your site and email stop working. For most generic endings such as .com, the registrar must let you renew for a period after expiry, and after deletion there's a 30-day redemption period during which it can still be recovered, usually for an extra fee. After that, anyone can register it.
How do I move my domain to another registrar?
Unlock the domain at your current registrar, request the transfer authorisation code, and enter it at the new registrar. The transfer usually adds a year to the registration.
Sources
- Verisign raising wholesale .com prices, Domain Name Wire
- Domain renewal prices, Findstack
- Expired Registration Recovery Policy, ICANN
- Big changes are coming to domain transfers, and ICANN wants your feedback, Domain Name Wire
- Trademark search, USPTO
- Who can register a .eu domain name?, EURid
- Prices for .ro domains, RoTLD
- Domains expiring in the coming period, RoTLD