How to Buy a Website Address
At the beginning of any web design project I am usually asked about how to buy a website address. It is very straightforward and should take no longer than 5 minutes or so to complete. It is a lot better to do the buying yourself than to let your web designer register it for you.
Why Should You Buy Your Own Website Address?
The main reason is that the address, or rather domain name, is then registered in your name. If you fall out with your designer you can just walk away with your domain name and build a new site elsewhere. If your web designer has registered the domain name in their name then they can charge you a hefty fee to transfer the name to you should you want to leave. They may even refuse to transfer the name meaning you would need to change your website address affecting your existing clients and search engine optimisation (SEO). Strictly speaking you don’t actually buy the domain name. It is more like renting it or paying for the right to use it for a specific length of time. If you no longer need it, you just stop paying for it and someone else could buy it.
Where Do You Buy Your Domain Name?
There are many brokers out there that you can use. We have used 123-reg for a while. They are both reliable and easy to use so we tend to recommend clients to them to. You can go anywhere though. Just google something like “buy a domain name”. Be sure check the company out though. Search for the “company name testimonials” to see what others are saying about them. Before you ask, we don’t get anything for recommending 123-reg. We used to but it worked out at 20p per domain name so wasn’t worth it.
How Much Does a Domain Name Cost?
A domain ending .co.uk costs £8.38 (at the time of writing) including VAT for a two year block. You may find it a little cheaper or a lot more expensive elsewhere and there are always deals but watch the price doesn’t jump up at the end of the deal. Of course there are other endings such as .com, .scot, .org.uk and so on which are all priced individually – see image below.
Instructions on How to Buy a Website Address.
Instruction 1 – Go to 123-reg.co.uk and type the address you want in the search box. I chose my-new-name in this example. 
Now click the magnifying glass to search. 
Instruction 2 – From the resulting list of possible endings chose the one you want. Note in this case my-new-name.com has already been taken and cannot be registered. Click “ADD” next to the ending you want – I will chose my-new-name.co.uk. Remember be careful off offers. Don’t pay for something you don’t need. Instruction 3 – Click on your basket at the top of the page and then click “checkout”. 
Instruction 4 – There is no need to choose domain privacy from the next page if you plan to have your address on your website anyway. Press continue. Instruction 5 – You will then have to add your personal details. If this is your first time you will be led through setting up an account. Make sure you use an email address you have access to and remember your password. Press continue. Instruction 6 – You will then be asked if you want any extras e.g. email. This will be up to you. If we are building your website say no all add-ons as we will set everything up. Press “checkout”. Instruction 7 – You can choose to pay by debit/credit card or using PayPal. It’s now just like buying anything online. Now you know how to buy a website address. Speak to your web designer about pointing your domain to a host. It’s easy to do or they can do it for you.
Thanks for reading.