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A domain name is a website’s primary URL, what you see when you visit that site and what you’ll type into a browser in order to visit it. Essentially, a domain name is the site’s address, without which no one would be able to find it.

With a domain name, you can direct customers, prospective customers, and friends to anywhere you want on the web like a website, social page, blog, or ecommerce store. A domain name is often the most important part of your brand.

There are two main places you can purchase domain names. There are some standalone domain name registrars — companies that simply sell domains. However, you can also buy a domain through any web hosting provider. This is often the best option since your hosting and domain will “live” in the same place (and therefore be easier to manage).

Finding a web host that fits your needs means looking for a few telltale features. Usually, a solid hosting package will give you some bonuses beyond storing your site’s data, as we mentioned earlier. When researching which domain you should buy, you might want to consider using a tool like Google’s Keyword Planner. This will help you identify keywords that can give you a competitive edge while still being sufficiently popular and easy to remember.

It’s also essential that your domain name accurately captures what your website is about. At a glance, it should offer prospective visitors an idea of the kind of content they’ll find and possibly even your site’s style and tone. Finally, remember to keep your domain name short, simple, and easy to remember. A confusing domain name can drive visitors away, while a well-considered choice can help you build traffic much faster.

Fortunately, it’s easy to search for available domain names. Any registrar or web host that offers domains should provide you with a tool that lets you enter in the desired domain name and check its availability. You’ll also typically be presented with alternative suggestions, as well as domain names that include various top-level domains. So if your original idea is taken, you may be able to find something very similar. Once you know what domain you want, you should be able to obtain it by selecting a “buy now” button next to the name. Then, it’s just a matter of entering some personal and payment information and completing the purchase process.

If you’re picking up a domain name from your web host, you should also be able to choose and buy your name alongside your plan. If you get your domain name somewhere else, though, don’t worry — you can still connect it to your site’s web host.

You can buy as many domain names as you like! You can even connect multiple domains to the same website. This can be helpful if you want to make sure visitors who misspell your domain or use the wrong TLD still end up in the right place.

Once you’ve registered a domain name, it’s yours until the registration period expires. You can move your website to a different platform or host and still use the same domain. This applies whether you’ve bought your domain from your web host, or somewhere else.

The answer to this question depends on where you registered your domain and the TLD itself. Some hosts and providers will let you cancel and provide a refund, while others may permit the cancellation without a refund, or simply encourage you to let the domain name expire. Therefore, it’s a good idea to check out your prospective domain name registrar's policies before making a purchase.

If your domain name expires, you may be given an opportunity to renew it before someone else can take it. For example, here at DreamHost, we offer a renewal grace period of 30 days. This ensures that you have enough time to keep your domain name active.

Yes, you can sell your domain. This is called “domain reselling,” and it’s extremely common. There are entire marketplaces where people buy and sell domains they no longer want or need; some people even try to purchase high-value domains to sell them at a profit.

Yes, DreamHost specializes in domain names. You can transfer your current domains to DreamHost and also take advantage of our WHOIS Domain Privacy that's included free.

Yes. You can either connect the existing domain or transfer it. Connecting the domain keeps it at your current host but lets you use it with DreamHost. Transferring the domain lets you manage both your domain and hosting at DreamHost.

We recommend transferring your domain to DreamHost, so you can manage your entire website in one location.

Also called private registration, WHOIS Domain Privacy protects your personal information (phone number, email, and physical address) from being shown in the publicly available WHOIS database.

As background, ICANN, the governing body for domain names, mandates that all domain registrars publish the personal contact information of domain registrants in the public WHOIS database. Email and phone scammers scrape and collect this information for spam, scams, and identity theft.

Domain Privacy prevents these spammers from collecting your personal info. DreamHost's complementary (yes it's free for the life of your domain) Domain Privacy service works by masksing your personal information in the WHOIS database with DreamHost's corporate information, so you're protected from unscrupulous marketers, spammers, robo-callers, junk mailers, and stalkers.

It's free.

We believe you should be able to control how much of your personal information is shared online. That's why we include WHOIS Domain Privacy free for the life of your domain registration (not just the first year).

Compare us to our competitors who charge $14/yr. and more for private registration, (even more than the price of the domain!) and see how much you can save by registering your domains at DreamHost.

Many of our customers save hundreds of dollars each year in private registration costs by transferring existing domains from their current domain registrar or hosting company to DreamHost. Over time, these fees really add up, and consolidating all your domains at DreamHost can help save you money long term.

With our Shared Unlimited and VPS hosting plans, you can host an unlimited number of domains in one account. Create email addresses at each domain, set up email forwarders to send email to your primary email account, and forward domains to existing websites or social pages. DreamHost's control panel is straightforward and gives you total control over all domain records.

Registering a domain name lets you create a personal presence on the web. With your own web address, you can control your online identity by linking to any other site with more information about you. For example, you can register a domain name and forward it to a website, blog, or social profile page like your Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter pages. A domain name can protect your personal brand and help your career.

Yes, you can set up email at your custom domain name while still pointing it to another website like LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter. Sending email from your own custom domain name not only makes you look professional but also gives you legitimacy by showing you're web savvy.