78% of UK businesses lose their first choice domain because they research before checking availability. Check first, research second.
Choose Your Registrar
Namecheap, GoDaddy, 123-Reg dominate UK market. All ICANN-accredited. Prices vary £8-15/year for .co.uk.
Search Availability
Enter desired name. If taken, registrar suggests alternatives (usually worse). Trademark Lens checks 15 domain extensions simultaneously - faster than manual checking.
Exact Match vs Variations
If yourname.co.uk is taken, don't settle for yourname-uk.co.uk or theyourname.co.uk. Pick different brand name entirely.
Warning: Hyphens reduce memorability by 34% and increase mis-typed traffic to competitor without hyphen.
Select Extensions
UK businesses need minimum: .co.uk (primary), .uk (redirect), .com (defensive). Total £25-35/year.
Add to Cart
Multi-year registration cheaper per year. Privacy protection (WHOIS privacy) essential - hides personal contact details from public database.
Privacy Protection
Free with most registrars for .com, extra £3-5/year for .co.uk. Always enable. Public WHOIS = spam emails and cold calls.
Complete Purchase
Payment via card or PayPal. Confirmation email arrives within minutes. Domain active in 0-24 hours (usually instant).
Configure DNS
Point domain to website host. Requires nameserver update or A record. Host provides DNS settings - copy exactly into registrar control panel.
Enable Auto-Renewal
Domains expire if not renewed. 67% of expired domains were accidents, not intentional lapses. Auto-renewal prevents catastrophic loss.
Domain expiration = website down, email dead, SEO ranking lost. Recovery costs 10-100x annual renewal fee if someone else registers it.
Business Registration
Register domain before Companies House filing. Domain available today may be gone in 48 hours. Secure digital assets first.
Verification Steps
Check: Domain appears in registrar dashboard, WHOIS shows your ownership, email confirmation received, nameservers updated (if applicable).
Trademark Lens checks both domain availability and Companies House conflicts in single search - ensures name works across all registration points before purchase.