What is a domain name?

Every website on the internet has an address. That address is its domain name: the text people type into a browser to visit your site. This guide explains what a domain name actually is and how it fits into the bigger picture.

What a domain name looks like

A domain name has two parts separated by a dot:

Part	Example	What it is
The name	`yourbusiness`	The unique name you chose
The extension (TLD)	`.com`	The top-level domain

Together, yourbusiness.com is your domain name.

Common extensions include generic ones like .com, .net and .org, and country-code ones like .co, .io, .co.uk and .com.au. IANA publishes the full list of every top-level domain that exists, and which kind each one is, in its Root Zone Database.

How a domain name works

When someone types your domain into a browser, their device asks the DNS (Domain Name System) where your website lives. DNS is like a giant phone book for the internet. It translates your human-readable domain into a numeric IP address (like 203.0.113.10) that computers use to find your server.

You don't need to understand all the technical details. The important thing is: your domain is the name, and DNS is the system that connects that name to your actual website.

See What is DNS? for a deeper explanation.

The difference between a domain, hosting, and email

These three things are often confused:

Domain nameYour address (e.g., yourbusiness.com)
HostingThe server where your website files live
EmailThe service that handles messages to you@yourbusiness.com

They all use your domain name, but they are separate services, often provided by different companies. See Domain vs hosting vs email for the full breakdown.

One name, one set of DNS settings, two entirely separate destinations. Changing your host does not move your email, and changing your email provider does not touch your website.

Read this as text

Your domain name (yourbusiness.com) sits at the top. It points to your DNS settings, which act as a switchboard.

From there the DNS settings send traffic two separate ways. The A record sends website visitors to your website hosting, where your site’s files live. The MX record sends email to your email provider, where your messages live.

The two destinations are independent. They are often different companies, and changing one does not affect the other.

Who "owns" a domain name?

Nobody owns a domain name forever. You register (rent) it for a period, usually one to ten years, and renew it to keep it. If you stop renewing, the domain becomes available for anyone else to buy.

This makes keeping your contact details up to date and turning on auto-renew very important. See Who owns your domain and Turning on auto-renew.

Always make sure your domain is registered to your business, not to your web developer or agency. If you part ways, you need to be able to access and move your domain yourself.

Where do you register a domain?

You register a domain through a domain registrar: a company that sells and manages domain registrations. To sell generic extensions like .com it has to be accredited by ICANN; for a country-code extension such as .uk, accreditation comes from that country's registry instead. Common ones include GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare and Squarespace. Some companies sell domains as a reseller for an accredited registrar, so the registrar named on your domain may not be the company you bought from. Google Domains no longer exists: Squarespace acquired all of its registrations and customer accounts in September 2023, so a former Google domain is now managed at Squarespace. ICANN publishes the full list of accredited registrars.

See How to register a domain name for step-by-step guidance.

Common questions

Do I need to buy my domain name, or is it free?

Domains are not free. You pay a registration fee for each term, and prices vary a lot by extension and by registrar, with premium names costing far more. Check the price on the registrar's own site before you commit, and check the renewal price separately: ICANN requires registrars to display their renewal, post-expiry renewal and restore fees clearly on their own website, so those numbers are always findable. Think of it as rent rather than a purchase.

Can someone take my domain if I forget to renew?

Eventually, yes. Most registrars give you a grace period in which you can still renew, but that's optional and each one sets its own length. If your registrar then deletes the domain, ICANN's rules give you a 30-day redemption period in which only you can restore it, usually for a fee, followed by five days of pending-delete. After which it's released for anyone to register, first come first served. Don't rely on remembering: turn on auto-renew. See Turning on auto-renew and What happens when a domain expires.

Can I have more than one domain name?

Yes. Many businesses register several variants (for example, .com and .co.uk) and redirect them all to the main site. See Parked & redirected domains.

What is a subdomain?

A subdomain is a prefix added before your domain name, like shop.yourbusiness.com or blog.yourbusiness.com. See Subdomains explained.