Buying a domain takes about five minutes. The step most people miss is the verification email that arrives afterwards. If you skip it, the domain is suspended within 15 days.

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Before you start

• Have a payment method ready.
• Have an email address you actually read. ICANN sends the verification message there, and renewal notices go to the same place.
• Decide whether you want privacy protection. It keeps your name, address, and phone number out of the public WHOIS record. It costs extra and is not available for .us or any .au domain.

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Steps

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Find and buy the domain

1. Go to https://hosting.com.
2. Click Domains & Addons, then click Register or Transfer a domain.
3. Enter the domain name you want, then click Search.
4. If the domain is available, click Add to the basket. If it is not available, try another name.
5. On the Product configuration page, choose how long you want to register the domain for in the Billing Term list.
6. In the Domain Extras section, choose whether you want WHOIS privacy protection.
7. Click Confirm and proceed.
8. Review your order, then click Proceed to checkout.
9. Log in to your hosting.com account, or create one:
   9.1 Click Create an account, fill in the fields, then click Sign Up.
   9.2 Open the email that arrives and click Verify Registration.
10. Choose a payment method, then click Place order.

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Complete ICANN verification

Every new domain registration triggers a mandatory verification email. You must complete this verification to keep the domain active.

• Look for a message from [email protected] with the subject Important Notice Regarding Your Domain Name(s). Check your spam folder if you cannot find it.
• Click the verification link in the message.

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Check who owns the domain

1. Go to https://my.hosting.com.
2. In the left sidebar, under Products & Services, click Domains.
3. Click on Manage
4. Click Update Registrant and check the Registrant Organization and Registrant Name fields.

Since 21 August 2025, whoever is named in Registrant Organization is the legal owner of the domain. If the domain should belong to you personally rather than a company, clear that field.

5. If you changed anything, click Submit.

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Check it worked

The domain appears under Products & Services > Domains, on the Active tab. To confirm that the registration is live worldwide, run a WHOIS lookup at whois.icann.org. The status should not include serverHold or clientHold. Either status means verification is still outstanding. If you also bought hosting, the nameservers are already pointed at us. You can then continue with Put your first site live.

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What goes wrong

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Next

• Put your first site live: from nothing to a real URL
• Set up your mailbox
• Connect a domain you bought somewhere else
• Renew a domain