Search for and claim your domain name

Domains are the equivalent of your home address but in the internet world. A domain name is an address people put into their browsers to access certain sites. This is a much easier way of browsing the web compared to the alternative – manually writing down IP addresses.

When you type a domain name into Google, the top search result is usually what you’re looking for. And if you type the domain name into your browser, you can directly access the website. Examples of domain names are Hostinger.com, Facebook.com, and Google.com. For the best results, you should include the name of your brand when registering your ideal domain.

A domain name allows visitors to access your website quickly. Without assigned names for different websites, users would have to access your website by entering an IP address, which is incredibly complicated. An IP address is a string of numbers like 111.111.1.111, so domain names make accessing a website much easier.

When creating a new domain, make sure to include keywords and your brand name so that it’s easier to find your website on the internet.

A subdomain is a part of your website that lives under your main domain, like blog.yoursite.com. It helps you create separate sections for things like a blog, store, or help page without needing a new domain.

The best practices for choosing domain names include the following:

• Keep it short. Two to three words is ideal.
• Keep it simple. Avoid long or complex words.
• Use keywords. Include a keyword from your niche. For example, if you sell coffee beans in London, try Londoncoffeebeans.com.
• Avoid numbers. Numbers can be confusing and harder to remember.
• Use your brand name. Buy a domain name that includes your brand for maximum recognition.

Need help? Check out our easy guide for tips on choosing the right domain name.

Once you have an idea, enter it into our domain search tool to check if it’s available.

No, you cannot change a domain name once it’s registered. However, you can register a new one and redirect your website to it. This means when someone visits your old domain, they’ll be sent to the new one automatically.

Check out our step-by-step guide on how to redirect a domain.

The minimum registration period for domain names is one year. With Hostinger, you can also register .com, .net, .org, and other domains for up to three years. Some domains, like .ai, require a minimum of two years.

To keep your website online without interruption, we recommend enabling automatic renewal.

It’s free to check domain availability and there are no special requirements for buying a domain name. We only require basic contact information and a valid payment method.

You can also register domains with us and point them to another hosting provider.

Yes. When you buy a domain, it belongs to you – and not the domain registrar.

It’s easy to use our domain transfer service to switch to Hostinger. We’ll walk you through every step of the process.

TLD stands for top-level domain. This is the final component of a domain, like .com.

ccTLD stands for country-code top-level domain. This is a subcategory of TLDs used to identify a particular country – for example, .co.uk, .de, .mx, and .fr are all ccTLDs.

gTLD stands for generic top-level domain. gTLDs are the most common type of domain name, in part because this category includes .com domains, which have more registrations than all ccTLDs combined.

Historically, the main gTLDs were .com, .org, .net, .edu, .gov, and .mil, but the number of available domain extensions has been expanded with the addition of TLDs like .online, .xyz, and .name.

With Hostinger, domain name registration is instant. So, once you register and activate your domain, you can use it right away.

We’ve made the process as quick as possible – it only takes a couple of minutes to go from checking domain name availability with our domain finder to successfully registering it.

Hostinger offers the best way to get a great domain for free. You just need to sign up for a Premium or Business web hosting plan for 12 months or more, and you’ll get a free domain registration for one year. This offer also applies to our annual Business Premium email hosting plan.

Learn how to claim your free domain.

Of course. When you register a domain, it belongs to you, not the hosting company that you registered it with.

It is easy to use our domain transfer service to transfer your existing domain to Hostinger. We will walk you through every step of the process.

If the website name has already been registered, you can try another extension. Often, the most popular extensions are already taken, but country-specific extensions such as .co.uk, or less common ones like .xyz or .online might still be available. Our domain search tool will also suggest other great available options.

Domain privacy protection is sometimes called RDAP (previously known as WHOIS) protection because it hides certain information about a domain name’s owner that would otherwise be discoverable through a public RDAP lookup.

Privacy protection lets the domain registrar replace your name, address, phone number, email address, and business name with a set of generic, non-identifiable information.

Each gTLD carries a slightly different meaning, so it’s usually best to pick one that’s most relevant to your website.

Domain names ending in .com are commonly used for commercial purposes, although they’re considered the default option as they imply a certain amount of trust. .net domains were originally used by networking companies, such as internet service providers, but are now multipurpose.

Domains ending in .org are still largely used as originally intended – as the gTLD for charities, communities, and local organizations. Meanwhile, .info is aimed at information-based websites such as wikis and tutorial sites.

With all of these gTLDs, there's a certain amount of wiggle room. There’s no rule saying you have to use one type of TLD or another. Think of the above information as guidelines when purchasing a domain name that is most relevant to your website.

Besides building a website, you can use your domain to create a professional email address, like name@company.com, which looks more credible than a generic one. You can also set up domain forwarding to redirect visitors to your social media profiles, like Instagram, Linkedin, Facebook, or any other page you want people to find easily.

Think of your domain name as your home address and web hosting as the physical structure, like a house. A domain can help people find your site; hosting is the online space to store your website data. To publish a website, you'll need to buy domain and hosting services so that visitors have an easier time finding your site on the internet.

While it’s technically possible to have one without the other, they work best together. This is why many hosting companies offer domain names and many domain registrars offer hosting services.

Want to learn more? Check out our full guide on the differences between domain names and hosting.

Premium domain names are high-value domains that are short, easy to remember, or include popular keywords (like media.tech or store.online). Due to their market value, they cost more upfront and often have higher renewal fees.