Updated August 2026: A few things in this post had gotten dusty since I first wrote it. I fixed my description of ICANN (independent nonprofit – not “US-owned” like I originally said), replaced a 2020-era prediction about domain extensions (past me nailed it, for once), added a note about domain privacy being free at most registrars now, and wrote a new section on what a domain should actually cost. The rest is the same post you came for.
What is a domain name?
Domain names have been called many things over the years. Domain, domain name, URL, web address all refer to the same thing. Your domain is your web address, and your web address is a URL (uniform resource locator).
Simply put, a domain name is a URL that you enter into a browser to access a website.
To Be More Technically Accurate
A domain name is the pretty version of your website’s server IP address. To be online, your website must first be hosted on a web server. That web server identifies your group of content (your website) using an IP address.
However, since humans are not computers, we need something a little easier to remember than a group of numbers and letters that change frequently. That’s where the DNS comes in.
What Is DNS?
Domain Name System, or DNS, is a naming system for computers. It takes those IP addresses and assigns easy to remember domain names. More accurately, it takes the domain names that you enter and translates them to the IP addresses the computers (servers) use to identify your website.
You may own a website and a domain and have never once touched the DNS – and that’s fine! In most cases, you don’t need to. The DNS is where you set up things like email MX records, subdomains (like mail.example.com, or calendar.example.com), and authentication TXT records for services like Google. If all that sounds way too technical, that’s okay. Just know that the DNS is the go-between for humans and servers when it comes to websites.
The ICANN Can!
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, is the independent, nonprofit organization responsible for coordinating all of those domain names. (Fun fact: the United States government used to have an oversight role here, but it handed that off back in 2016. ICANN answers to a global community now, not any one country.)
Whenever you buy a domain name from, say, SiteGround, they first have to check with ICANN to make sure the domain is available. If available, they register it with ICANN and assign you ownership. Once you own the domain, you’re able to point it to whatever you like!
Do I Need Domain Privacy?
Quick side note, because this one used to cost people money. When you register a domain, your name and contact info get attached to the registration record, and that record is publicly searchable (the lookup system is called WHOIS). For years, registrars charged an annual fee to keep that info hidden from spammers and scrapers. Classic upsell.
Not anymore. Domain privacy now comes free with most reputable registrars. If a company still wants to charge you every year just to hide your own phone number from the internet, that’s a red flag – take your domain business elsewhere.
.com, .net, .org? What else?
The techy term here is TLD, or top-level domain – that’s the part after the dot. And there are hundreds of them now. Beyond the traditional .com, .net, and .org, you can register things like .io, .dev, .app, .co, .studio, .ai, and yes, even .pizza.
When I originally wrote this post, I predicted that some major websites would start using extensions other than .com. I mean… I nailed that one. Tech companies practically live on .io, .dev, and .ai these days, and nobody blinks at a .co in the address bar anymore. That said, .com is still the extension most people type on autopilot, so if the .com of your name is available – grab it.
Why Do I Need A Domain Name?
I’m not sure who needs to hear this, but if you’re planning on having a website, you absolutely need a domain name. It’s really not optional. A domain like JoesTireShop.Wix.Com just isn’t going to cut it. (Sorry if that’s actually a domain, imaginary Joe. But, your domain sucks!).
If you intend to grow your business online, step 1 is registering that domain name. But there are multiple ways to do that. My suggestion is to pick it up while you’re purchasing hosting.
Where Do I Get A Domain Name?
Buying your domain is a major milestone in the process of getting yourself online. Although you can purchase a domain without hosting from a standalone registrar – Namecheap, Cloudflare, Porkbun, and GoDaddy are the big names these days (pour one out for Google Domains, which got sold off to Squarespace) – most people just buy them while buying hosting.
How To Buy A Domain When Setting Up Hosting
Since you can’t do a whole lot with a domain without hosting of some sort, then it just stands to reason that hosting accounts offer the registration and purchase of domains during their checkout process. Every credible hosting platform that I’ve seen, from SiteGround, to GoDaddy, to even Shopify and Wix; they all provide a way to purchase a domain through their service. Since SiteGround is quite simply the best WordPress hosting for nearly every scenario, I’ll explain how to buy a domain through their service.
When buying hosting, step 1 is Choose a Plan.
Once you’ve chosen that plan, step 2 is Choose Domain.
Step 3: fill in your important information and checkout.
It is truly that easy with SiteGround.
How Much Should A Domain Cost?
Honest answer: not much. A standard .com from a reputable registrar generally lands somewhere in the $10 to $20 per year range. If you’re being quoted way more than that for a plain old .com, somebody is padding the bill.
A few things to watch for, though:
- The renewal price is the real price. Registrars love a splashy first-year discount. That cheap first year is the hook – the renewal rate is what you’ll actually pay every year after. Check it before you buy.
- Some extensions just cost more. TLDs like .ai and .io run noticeably higher than .com. That’s not a scam (different registries set different wholesale prices), but it’s worth knowing before you fall in love with a name.
- “Premium” domains are their own universe. Short, catchy, dictionary-word domains usually already belong to someone, and buying one can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. For most small businesses, a slightly longer domain you register fresh is the smarter move. By a lot.
- Privacy should be free. Covered above, but it bears repeating. If it’s a paid add-on, walk.
Prices do creep up over time (registries raise their wholesale rates more often than I’d like), so for current numbers, check the pricing page of whichever registrar you’re using rather than trusting a blog post. Even this one.
That’s it!
I hope this cleared up some confusion about what a domain is and how it ties in with hosting. If you want more information on what web hosting is, check out my blog post about that here. If you think I missed something important, let me know in the comments below!