Buying a domain through me
I can buy a web address for your business, like yourbusiness.com, and connect it to your website. It's a yearly add-on. You see the price and the registrar's terms before anything is bought, and nothing is bought until you approve it.
Buying a domain isn't available for every business yet. When it is available for yours, Settings → Domain shows a search box.
How to buy one
- Go to Settings → Domain and type the name you want in the search box.
- Pick a name from the results. Each one shows its yearly price.
- I ask for your business's address. A domain must be registered to a real address (see below). If you don't have a mailing address on file yet, I keep this one as it.
- A purchase card opens. It shows the name, the price, and a link to the registrar's terms. Read the terms, tick the box, then approve.
When you approve, I place the order and charge the first year. Registration usually takes a few hours.
What it costs
Every name is in one of four yearly price tiers:
- Tier 1: $20 a year
- Tier 2: $40 a year
- Tier 3: $60 a year
- Tier 4: $100 a year
The search shows the tier price beside each name. Names that cost more than tier 4 don't appear, and neither do names that are already taken. The price on the purchase card is the price you pay.
Who owns it, and what privacy covers
The domain is registered to your business, with your business's address. The registrar is Squarespace.
Every domain I sell comes with WHOIS privacy. Public domain lookups show the registrar's privacy service instead of your name, email, phone number and address. I only offer names whose ending supports privacy, so a few endings never appear in the search.
Confirming your email with Squarespace
After the domain is registered, Squarespace emails you a link to confirm your contact details. Click it. Until you do, Settings → Domain shows a reminder and a Resend verification email button.
Connecting it to your site
I don't control the domain's records at Squarespace, so connecting it works the same way as connecting a domain you already own. Once the order is complete, Settings → Domain lists the records for your website and your email. Add them at Squarespace, where your domain is registered. When the records are in place, your site and your email start working at your new address.
Search engines and a new address
Search engines treat a new domain as a new address. If your site is already showing up in Google at your current address, its ranking starts over at the new one. That's why I suggest a domain soon after your site goes live, before Google has found it. When your domain is connected, search engines are pointed at it automatically. See Your domain in search results.
Renewal
Your domain renews once a year at the same tier price, and I charge you for it. You don't need to do anything to keep it. After each renewal, Settings → Domain shows the new renewal date.
Canceling
Go to Settings → Domain and press Cancel on the domain. I ask you to confirm first. Your domain stays yours, and keeps working, until the end of the year you paid for. There is no refund for the rest of that year. If you change your mind before then, press Keep it and renewal turns back on.
If a renewal payment fails, the same thing happens: the domain runs to the end of the paid year and doesn't renew.
When a domain is about to end
If a domain won't renew, I tell you 30 days before it ends and again 7 days before. Each message gives the date and what you can do: turn renewal back on, or move the domain to another registrar.
When a domain has ended
On the end date your website goes back to its original address, and your email goes out from its standard address again. I tell you when that happens. Nothing breaks on your site: it keeps working at its original address. You can buy the name again from Settings → Domain if it's still available.
Moving it to another registrar
You own the domain, so you can move it. Cancel renewal first. Then, under the domain in Settings → Domain, press Move to another registrar. I get you the transfer code your new registrar asks for. If I can't get the code for you yet, I show you the page at Squarespace where you can ask for it. Keep the transfer code private: anyone who has it can move your domain.