Even if you are not intending to create a website for your business immediately, you'll probably be using email and want to have a presence on the web at some point in the future. This could be a single webpage advertising your business and giving contact details, or it could be a site that allows customers to browse through products, place orders and make payments online.
For further information see website hosting options.
Choosing a domain name
The website address - for example, my-new-business.co.uk - is known as a domain name. For most businesses based in the UK, a name ending with .co.uk is suitable. Your email address will normally include this name - for example, enquiries@my-new-business.co.uk.
You cannot have a domain name that is the same name as a company registered with Companies House.
.eu domain names
You are not able to register or renew .eu domain names if:
- your organisation, business or undertaking is established in the UK but not in the EU/European Economic Area (EEA) or
- you live outside of the EU/EEA and are not an EU/EEA citizen
You may still satisfy the eligibility criteria if you have your registered office, central administration, or principal place of business within the EU/EEA, are established within the EU/EEA, or are a natural person resident in the EU/EEA.
UK registrant who cannot meet the eligibility criteria will have their existing .eu domain names withdrawn.
Withdrawn domain names will not be available to any other entity for a further 12 months.
Find out more about registering and renewing .eu domain names in the UK.
Registering your domain name
- Decide on a suitable domain name for your website - if you are unable to use one that exactly matches your business name. You can use numbers as well as letters. Hyphens can be used to separate words - but you can't include spaces, full stops or other punctuation. It's a good idea to have a few alternative names in case your first choice has already been taken.
- Check whether the name is available - you can check if your chosen domain name is available with Nominet, the official registry for UK domain names.
- Register the name - this is a simple process which you can carry out online with any registration agent. Nominet provides further information on domain names.
