Domain name

A domain name is the address of a website — firmitas.studio, for example — registered through a registrar and renewed every year. It is one of the four things you must own outright: the domain should be registered in your name, on your own registrar account, renewed from your card.

Reviewed October 6, 2026. Prices are quoted per project; nothing on this page is a published price list.

What it is

The human-readable address that points at your hosting: type it into a browser and the site loads. Registration is a rental, renewed annually (sometimes longer), through a registrar — and whoever holds the account holds the address.

Why ownership matters

If the domain is registered in your designer's account, you are renting your own address: the renewal runs through their card, and the site stays up only while the relationship does. The check takes ten minutes — a free WHOIS lookup shows the registrant. If it does not name you, that is the problem to fix first.

What it costs

Usually around $10–$20 a year for common endings, paid to your registrar. Beware of "free domain" bundles: they often mean the domain lives in the builder's account, which is the opposite of free.

Choosing one

Short, spellable, and easy to say over the phone. Your business name is the obvious first choice; if it is taken, a plain variation beats a clever pun. The ending (.com, .studio, a country code) matters less than being easy to remember and type.

Questions

What happens if I don't renew my domain?

It lapses: your site and email stop working, and after a grace period the address can be bought by someone else — sometimes a competitor. Set the renewal to auto-pay from your own card and put the expiry in your calendar.

Can I move my domain to another registrar later?

Yes — domains are portable. You ask the current registrar for a transfer authorisation (EPP) code and initiate the transfer with the new one. It is a routine process; a registrar that stalls it is a sign the domain is not as free as it should be.

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