Domain names, explained
Your domain is your address on the internet, like yourbusiness.com. It’s one of the few things online that you can truly own, so it’s worth getting right.
What a domain is, and isn’t
A domain is a name you rent by the year from a registrar. It isn’t your website: the website lives on a server, and the domain points to it. That’s why you can change who builds or hosts your site and keep the same address.
How to choose one
- Short, easy to say and easy to spell
- Your business name, or your name plus what you do
- Avoid hyphens and numbers if you can
- .com is the most familiar; local endings like .ae or .com.tr can signal where you work, but may have extra registration rules
Where to buy it
Buy it from a well-known registrar, in your own name or your company’s name, with your own email address. Turn on auto-renew. Losing a domain because a card expired is more common than you’d think.
How it connects to your site
Connecting means adding a few records in your registrar’s settings, called DNS records, that point your domain to your website’s server. It usually takes a few minutes to set up and can take a few hours to work everywhere.
Email on your domain
An address like [email protected] looks more professional than a free email address. It’s a separate service, usually from Google or Microsoft, that uses the same domain.
With altoda, you keep your domain in your name and we connect it for you. If you don’t have one yet, you can register it before or after your site is ready.
Want this done for you?
Your website, ready in 24 hours. From $49 a month.