Your domain is your address on the internet — yourbusiness.co.uk. You need one, and there are two ways to get it.
Buying one through us
Search for a name during signup and we register it for you. It is included in your £47 a month for as long as you are a customer, and we handle the renewals so it cannot lapse because a reminder went to an old email address.
We point it at your site automatically. There is nothing for you to configure.
Using one you already own
Keep it where it is registered and point it at us, or move the registration to us entirely. Both work. See using a domain you already own.
Choosing a good one
Shorter is better. People have to say it on the phone and type it with their thumbs.
.co.uk if you trade in the UK. It signals local, it is what people guess, and it is usually available when the .com is not. .com is fine if you can get it. Avoid the novelty endings unless there is a specific reason.
Say it out loud. If you have to spell it every time, it is the wrong name. Watch for words that sound the same but spell differently, and for the accidental readings that happen when words run together.
Avoid hyphens and numbers. smith-and-sons-electrical-4u.co.uk is a nightmare to communicate.
Your business name beats keywords. leedsemergencyelectrician24hr.co.uk looks like spam and helps your search ranking far less than it did fifteen years ago. Your actual name builds something you own.
What if the name I want is taken?
Common options, roughly in order of how well they work:
- Add your location —
hartleysleeds.co.uk - Add your trade —
hartleyselectrical.co.uk - Try
.co.ukif the.comis gone, or vice versa - Add a short natural word —
hartleysgroup.co.uk
What we would avoid: deliberate misspellings, and anything close enough to an existing business that you might get a letter from their solicitor.
Who owns it?
You do. It is registered in your name, not ours. If you leave, you can take it with you — see cancelling your site.
Can I have more than one?
Yes. You can point several domains at the same site, with one set as the primary. Useful if you own both the .co.uk and the .com, or a common misspelling.
Additional domains you already own can be connected free. Extra registrations through us are charged at cost.