How to choose and buy a domain for your small business.

1. Pick a name that sounds like your business.

• Start with your business name. If it’s taken, try a clear variation with your trade or area.
• Say it aloud. Could someone type it correctly after hearing it once?
• Keep it reasonably short. Avoid awkward spellings and strings of numbers.
• For a UK local business, .co.uk or .uk can be a sensible place to start. Check .com too if you work beyond the UK.

For example, smithplumbing.co.uk is easier to share than a long address full of extra words. The exact name still needs to be available.

2. Choose where to register it.

You can search for a domain at Porkbun, Namecheap, Dynadot, or another registrar you prefer. We suggest these three as simple starting points, especially if you may want basic email forwarding alongside your domain.

You don’t have to buy website hosting or an email mailbox during domain checkout. Those are separate choices.

3. Look at the ongoing price.

For an ordinary available .co.uk domain, a rough budget is £5–£20 a year. Treat that as a planning range, not a quote: promotions, currency, taxes and the exact name can change what you pay. A name marked “premium” can cost much more.

• Check the first-year price.
• Check the renewal price for year two and beyond.
• Review extras in the basket before paying. Remove anything you don’t want.

Registrar prices change, so use their live checkout for the final figure. Their Porkbun, Namecheap and Dynadot price pages show registration and renewal information.

4. Buy it in your own account.

1. Create an account using an email address you already check.
2. Search for your chosen domain and confirm the spelling.
3. Read the registration and renewal prices before checkout.
4. Pay directly to the registrar and keep the confirmation email.
5. Turn on account security and decide whether automatic renewal is right for you. Keep your payment details current if you use it.

The account and domain should stay in your name. We’ll never need your password to build the website.

What happens after that?

You own the address. Next, your domain needs to point to the place where the website lives. We’ll give you a simple guide for that connection when your site is ready.