Buy domain names & how to register or find domain names UK

A Guide to Choosing a Domain Name & Domain Name Registration

I want to buy a domain name, what now?...

If you are just looking to buy a domain name, go straight to the list of domain name providers or check whether a domain name is available by searching with the domain lookup service here.

If you are interested in finding out about choosing a domain name and domain name providers/ registrars, then read on...

Domain Names for beginners: What to look for when choosing a domain name to buy and register

The first job when setting up a website is to register yourself a good domain name. To select the right domain name for your business you will need to choose a domain name that adequately describes your products or services, and one that is available (there is a domain name lookup search engine below: available domain look up service).

Buying the best domain name registration available

Buying the right domain name can help considerably with the visibility of your prospective website. For instance, if your company name is "Joe Bloggs e-Widgets", its probably best not to buy something like joebloggs.co.uk, since some search engines will use this domain name to tell them something about the relevancy and context of your website, and unless you are super famous, this will bring you very few visitors who are looking for your widgets.

It is often best to buy a domain name that helps to advertise what you sell; e.g. widgets4u.co.uk, factorydirectwidgets.co.uk or something like that would be a suitable domain name for such a business. If your product is sold locally, its best get the place name in the domain name you purchase as well; e.g. leedswidgets.co.uk. Of course, if you sell many different products and services, such an approach might not be feasible, but don't worry, there are lots of other ways to make your website visible to search engines and this is just one small part of the web marketing arsenal.

If your intended market is in the UK, then the best domain name to buy is a .co.uk domain name, as this will allow search engines to sort your relevance by your location. It is also possible that you might struggle to get your site on the Google UK data center, if you don't choose to register a .co.uk domain name. Several other factors count here, such as whether the ISP with whom you registered your domain is in the UK, whether your contact details on the website state clearly that you are in the UK, and whether your WHOIS information clearly locates you as a UK-based business.

If your intended market is global then its best to buy a .com domain name, and if you are an organisation or registered charity, its best to buy a .org domain name. Some people decide to buy as many domain names for their chosen words as possible, and may try to get the .co.uk, .com, .org, .net, .biz and whatever else is available to register. At one time this used to be useful for setting up other entry pages for a website. However, search engines pretty much frown on this practice these days, and the only justification for buying up additional domains nowadays, is really to stop unscrupulous snake oil vendors from buying up the .com domain name and trying to sell it to you at an inflated price just because you have already registered the .co.uk domain name. Its almost always best just to ignore these Internet parasites. There is a list of domain name extensions at the bottom of this page which you can use to help you choose which is the right domain name extension to register.

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Choosing Domain Name providers | buy domain registration and web hosting

Domain names are widely available on the Internet from a large range of providers. The price of a domain name can vary a little, and some domain name providers are cheaper than others, so you should shop around before registering. In general a .co.uk domain name will cost less than a .com domain name. There are even a few reputable web hosts who will give you a cheap or free domain name registration when you buy a web hosting solution from them, and if one of these suits for your web hosting purposes, then use them for your domain name as well. It is also worth bearing in mind, however, that you may find yourself a web host based in the United States that you really want to use, but that they don't sell .co.uk domain names. In such a scenario, we'd recommend that you trust your instincts about the web host (after researching them of course), and buy a .co.uk domain name registration separately.

We provide below a select range of popular ISPs (Internet Service Providers) who sell domain name registration, and allow you to check whether your chosen domain name is available to buy with a domain lookup service.

We don't advocate any of these registration providers in particular, they are simply there to help you start shopping for a domain name so that you find the right ISP and end up buying the right domain name for you.

Free domain names included with web hosting

As a general rule of thumb though, it is often best to get a free domain name from a web host that specialises in web hosting, rather than to get free or cheap web hosting from a company that specialises in domain names. Your domain name is a one off purchase, whereas you will use your web host and the control panel they provide regularly, so its usually better to go for a tried and tested web hosting specialist if you find yourself faced with this choice.

Check whether a domain name is available for registration by searching with 1&1's domain checker - opens in a new window.

Available domain names lookup

Buy a Domain Name: Domain Name Registrations and Web Hosting Providers

If your preferred domain name is available you can now buy that domain name from one of the domain name and web hosting providers listed:

1. Bluehost.com web hosting and domain names
   
   
2. 1&1 domain names and 1&1 Web Hosting (UK-based)
   
   
3. EasyCGI Web Hosting
   
   
4. Dotster domain names
   
   
5. One.com domain names and webhosting
   
   
6. EasyDNS domain names
   
   
7. Web hosting and domain names from HostMonster
   
   
8. Domain names from 123-reg (UK based)
   
   
9. Domain names from GoDaddy.com
   
   
10. Web.com web hosting and domain names
    
    

List of Common National Domain Name Extensions

• .au Australia
• .ca Canada
• .cn China
• .cz Czech Republic
• .de Germany
• .dk Denmark
• .es Spain
• .fr France
• .hk Hong Kong
• .ie Ireland
• .in India
• .it Italy
• .jp Japan
• .nl The Netherlands
• .nz New Zealand
• .pl Poland
• .pt Portugal
• .ru Russia
• .se Sweden
• .tr Turkey

List of Common Organisation and Business Domain Name Extensions

• .biz Business Organizations
• .com Commercial
• .edu Education
• .ac.uk British Education
• .gov US Government
• .gov.uk UK Government
• .mobi Mobile devices
• .net Networks
• .org Organisations

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