---
title: "Choose and buy a domain name"
url: "https://miow.me/docs/guides/choose-a-domain"
updated: 2026-10-29
description: "How to choose a domain name for a business, which ending to pick, where to buy it, what it costs, and how email on the domain works."
---

# Choose and buy a domain name

A domain name is a website's address, such as yourbusiness.co.uk. You rent it by the year from a company called a registrar, and it stays yours for as long as you renew it.

## What makes a good domain name?

One people can spell after hearing it once. That usually means the business's name, short, with no hyphens or numbers, and no spelling that has to be explained on the phone.

If the name is taken, adding what you do or where you are often works: a bakery called Crumb might use crumbbakery.co.uk or crumbleeds.co.uk.

## Which ending should I choose?

.co.uk or .uk for a business that works in the UK, and .com for one that sells further afield or already has the .com. Either ending works with any website builder. Some businesses buy both and point the second at the first, so a customer who types the other one still arrives.

## Where do I buy one?

From any registrar, such as Namecheap, Cloudflare, GoDaddy or 123 Reg. Buy it in your own name or your business's, with an email address you will keep, so the renewal reminders reach you.

## How much does a domain cost?

Usually tens of pounds a year, not hundreds. Check the renewal price before buying, since the first year is often discounted, and turn on automatic renewal: a domain that lapses can be bought by someone else.

## Does a domain come with email?

No. Email at the domain, such as hello@yourbusiness.co.uk, comes from an email service, such as Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Fastmail or iCloud+. The service gives you records to add at the registrar, the same place a website's records go, and the two kinds sit side by side without touching.

## What are DNS records?

DNS records are short lines of settings, kept at the registrar, that tell the internet where a domain points: one set sends visitors to the website, another sends email to the email service. A website builder tells you which records to add, and you copy them into the registrar's DNS page.

## How does it work on miow?

Type the domain under Address in Settings, and miow lists the records to add and says Live once they work. [Use your own domain](/docs/run/use-your-own-domain) takes it step by step. Until then the site is at its miow address, such as yourbusiness.miow.me.