Domain Name Registration

What is a domain name?

A domain name is the address people type into their browser to find your website — like yourshop.com or smithplumbing.co.uk. Without one, people would have to remember a long string of numbers (an IP address) to reach you.

Two paths

1. You already have a domain. Bring it — this is the fast path: same day, free, no transfer locks or waiting periods. Your domain stays registered where it is; you just point its nameservers at us. The DNS tab in your dashboard scans your existing records (MX, SPF, DKIM, etc.) so email and other services keep working, then walks you through pointing the domain at your new site. ~5 minutes of clicking. If you'd prefer to have your domain registration managed by us instead, email us and we'll help directly.

2. You don't have a domain yet. Register one through us, right from your dashboard. We charge exactly what AWS Route53 charges — pure pass-through, no markup. A .com is around $14/yr. The domain is registered in your name as the legal owner.

This article covers path 2. If you already own a domain, see Name Servers for the migration walkthrough.

How to register through Hands Free Sites

1. Open the DNS tab in your dashboard
2. Type the name you want (e.g. mybusiness.com)
3. Hit Search — we check availability via AWS and show pricing live
4. If it's taken, we suggest alternatives in the same TLD family
5. Hit Register on the one you want
6. Fill in your registrant details (name, address, phone) — these go into the WHOIS record
7. Confirm — we charge your card on file the AWS-listed price (no markup)
8. AWS finalizes the registration in about 5 minutes — you'll get an email when it's live

Pricing — pure pass-through

TLD	Approx. yearly	What we charge
.com	$14	Whatever AWS lists today
.net	$14	Whatever AWS lists today
.org	$14	Whatever AWS lists today
.io	$39	Whatever AWS lists today
.ai	$135	Whatever AWS lists today
.co	$30	Whatever AWS lists today
.app	$19	Whatever AWS lists today
.dev	$19	Whatever AWS lists today

Pricing is re-fetched live from AWS at every charge — when AWS adjusts a TLD's price, we pass that through automatically (up or down). No "first year free, then $30" tricks.

What you get when you register

• Legal ownership — your name is the registrant on the public WHOIS record. That's the ICANN definition of "owner."
• Privacy enabled by default — your personal contact info is hidden from public WHOIS lookups (proxied through a privacy service, free).
• Auto-renewal on by default — we'll charge your card 30 days before expiry each year. Toggle it off in two clicks if you want manual renewal.
• Hosted zone in Route53 — a dedicated DNS zone for your domain, automatically wired to point at your site.
• Free DNS management — add/edit/delete records (A, CNAME, MX, TXT, etc.) from the dashboard.
• One-click transfer-out — if you ever want to move the domain to GoDaddy, Cloudflare, your own AWS account, etc., click "Transfer to another registrar" and we hand you the AuthInfo code instantly. AWS auto-approves outbound transfer within 5 days. We never block transfers.

What TLDs we support

.com, .net, .org, .co, .io, .ai, .app, .dev, .biz, .info, .me, .shop, .store, .site, .online, .tech, .digital, .studio, .agency, .services, .solutions.

Country-code TLDs like .de, .ca, .uk aren't in the allowlist — they require manual registrant verification (local presence proofs, gov IDs, etc.) that breaks the zero-touch flow. If you need one, register at a registrar that handles those (Namecheap is good), then bring it to us via the DNS migration flow.

Why "in my name" if you hold the AWS account?

Standard reseller / managed-domain model. We're the technical registrar holding the registration in our AWS account; you're the legal registrant per WHOIS. Same model Squarespace Domains, GoDaddy resellers, and Cloudflare Registrar use. The "100% in your name" claim is honored at the WHOIS layer — and the one-click transfer-out is the escape hatch that makes the model legitimate. If you ever decide you want full AWS-Console-level control, click transfer, paste the auth code at any registrar, done.

Tips for picking a good name

• Keep it short — shorter names are easier to remember and type
• Avoid hyphens and numbers — they're hard to communicate verbally
• Use .com if you can get it — it's what people default to
• Match your business name — consistency builds trust
• Trademark check — if your business has a trademark, search USPTO before registering

See Managing Your Domain for what to do after registration.