Register or Transfer Domain Names
Your domain name is your website’s address – like a road to your house, you need a domain name for people to easily get to your website.
Groundwork Domain Names
Everything you need to get online comes FREE with your domain!* Find your perfect domain name (or names!) and get started on your stellar new web presence with tons of free tools that come with it, or even take it up a notch with our amazing Managed WordPress website plans.
Groundwork’s domain names are packed with features to help you get the most out of your domain name even if you don’t have a website yet.
Domain Locking prevents accidental or intentional, malicious transfers of your domain names, and with Auto Renew Protection, your domain names (and other Groundwork products) stay safely in your name.
Register Your Domain
Ready to begin your search for the perfect domain name?
Backorder Domains
Even if someone’s already registered your perfect domain, you still have a chance!
Transfer Domains
Already have a domain or 3? Transfer them to Groundwork and get a bounty extra features!
Start your search today!
Everything you need to get online comes [su_tooltip style=”light” position=”west” title=”Domain Disclaimers” content=”Domain cost + ICANN fee. Special savings apply only to first year of registration. You must purchase entire section to qualify for special savings. The final price may differ because of additional sales, fees, and promotions. Products will automatically renew until cancelled. You may turn off the auto-renewal feature by visiting your account.” close=”yes”]FREE with your domain!*[/su_tooltip] Find your perfect domain name (or names!) and get started on your stellar new web presence with tons of free tools that come with it, or even take it up a notch with our amazing Managed WordPress website plans.
Each and every domain name comes with all this:
- Domain Forwarding and Masking – Direct any domain name you own to your website — anyone who types that domain name into their browser is taken directly to your website.
- Domain Locking – Domain locking prevents accidental or intentional transfers of domain ownership and stops anyone from redirecting your nameservers.
- Total DNS Control – Manage your domain nameserver (DNS) records and set your email, FTP, sub-domains and website location — all from one control panel.
- Change of Registration – Assign your domain name to someone else or change the contacts for your domain online anytime. Requires a fee for domains.
- Status Alerts – Monitor the status of your domain and get instant alerts if there’s been a change.
- Auto Renew Protection – No need to watch expiration dates to make sure you renew on time! Auto renew keeps your domains, hosting, website builders, and other products in your name and under your control.
Loads of goodies with every domain name
All domain names come with:
Super easy setup with any Groundwork services
1-click purchase of additional resources, like Privacy Registration
Up to 100 subdomains (like shop.coolexample.com) to customize your site
Quick, simple tools to forward your domains to any existing website (even your Facebook Page, Etsy shop, etc.)
Protect your privacy
As soon as you register a domain with Groundwork or any other registrar, your personal information is displayed in a public directory. Hackers and spammers often use this to compile email lists and steal domains. Harsh, but true.
When you add Privacy Protection to your domains:
We replace your name and contact details with our partner company’s, Domains By Proxy. No one ever sees your name, address, email or phone number but us.
You still control your domains and all email addressed to them as well as the right to sell, renew or transfer them. Your domains are still 100% yours.
“Highly recommend using Groundwork for your business website domain.”
Tim F. | Cincinnati, OH
Questions about Domains?
We’ve got answers.
What is a Domain Name?
A domain name, like www.coolexample.com, is a lot like a street address for a house or business. Let’s use the White House as an example. The street address, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, is an exact location — like an IP address. You might not know the exact street address, but when you visit Washington, D.C., you can tell your cabbie that you want to visit the White House and still get there. This is how a domain name is used: It’s an easy way to reach the exact location of a website without having to remember its numeric address.
A domain name consists of, at least, a top-level and a second-level domain. A top-level domain (TLD) is the part of the domain name located to the right of the dot (“.”). The most common TLDs are .com, .net, and .org.
Many domains, also called extensions, can be registered by anyone, like .com, .net, and .org. A second-level domain (SLD) is the portion of the domain name that is located immediately to the left of the dot and domain name extension. For example, the SLD in coolexample.com is coolexample.
Advanced Domain Name Description: A domain name represents a physical point on the Internet — an IP address. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) governs coordination of the links between IP addresses and domain names across the Internet. With this standardized coordination, you can find websites on the Internet by entering domain names instead of IP addresses into your Web browser.
What is an IP Address?
An IP (Internet Protocol) address is a unique identifying string of numbers, like 216.27.61.137, given to every individual computer, server, and network on the Internet. Like a license plate is used to help identify vehicles, an IP address is used to identify and locate information online. Additionally, they allow for communication over the internet between devices and networks connected to the internet.
How do domains work?
When visitors enter your domain name into a Web browser, the browser request uses your domain name to find the domain name’s associated IP address and, therefore, the website. People use domain names instead of IP addresses because it is easier to remember a name rather than a series of numbers.
Your domain name and its associated IP address are stored in a common database along with every other domain and associated IP address that are accessible via the Internet.
What is a URL?
A URL, or Uniform Resource Locator, is the address of an Internet website or webpage. Think of a URL as a street address for the location of information on the Internet. For instance, a complete URL like http://coolexample.com/music, points you to the music page of the coolexample.com website.
Take a look at the anatomy of this URL to better understand how they direct online users to specific information: http://coolexample.com/funky/music.html
http:// = protocol
coolexample = domain name
.com =TLD
/funky/music.html = path
/funky/ = directory
/music.html = file name
What is a nameserver?
Nameservers are the Internet’s equivalent to phone books. A nameserver maintains a directory of domain names that match certain IP addresses (computers). The information from all the nameservers across the Internet is gathered in a central registry.
Nameservers make it possible for visitors to access your website using a familiar domain name, instead of having to remember a series of numbers.
What do I do with my domain once it's been registered?
Registering a domain name does not automatically activate a website that displays when visitors enter your domain name into a Web browser. The domain name must have a hosted website that includes a numeric address, called an IP address, for visitors to access the website using your domain name.
- Setup a website! — Check out Managed WordPress, Website Builder, or Unlimited Web Hosting to put your domain name to work.
- Forward it to an existing website — You can forward any domain name to any existing public-facing website on the Internet – like your Etsy store, Facebook Page or Group, or any other website. See Manually forward or mask your domain or subdomain for more information.
Besides setting up a website, there are a number of things you can do with your domain name once you register it.
- Protect your brand online — The more domain names you register, the better. Preventing others from registering a similar domain name to yours hinders them stealing your customers or confusing them. What can you do with all these domain names? Forward them to your main domain name’s website. See Manually forward or mask your domain or subdomain for more information.
- Hold on to it — Maybe you haven’t decided what to do with your new domain name. Don’t worry — there’s no rush. You can leave it parked with us for the length of your registration.
Can I register more than one domain name?
If you’re thinking about registering more than one domain name, you’ve got the right idea. Registering and using multiple domains names is great for building your business, protecting your brand name, and creating a dynamic online identity.
When you register multiple domain names, you can:
- Keep your competition from registering a similar domain name drawing customers to them instead of you
- Promote the different products and services you offer
- Drive more traffic to your website
- Improve your SEO by scoring more opportunities to market to — and be listed in — search engine results
- Create distinct advertising strategies reaching different target markets
- Provide customers more ways to find you when searching the Internet
- Capture common misspellings of your domain name, instead of sending visitors to an error page
- Protect your brand and online identity
Still have questions?
Get instant answers and browse FAQs at our Help Center, or call our Tech Support and Sales gnomes anytime!