# What is Domain name?

> A domain name is your website's address, such as smithplumbing.co.uk, which you rent yearly from a registrar and which also powers your business email.

- Source: https://nerdsharks.com/glossary/domain-name
- Publisher: Nerdsharks (Exeter, Devon, UK)
- Updated: 2026-09-26

Also called: domain, web address, URL, website address.

Your domain name is the address people type to reach your website, and the part after the @ in your email address. It is made of a name you choose plus an ending, such as .co.uk, .uk or .com.

You never own a domain outright; you rent it, usually by the year, and you keep it as long as you renew it. If it lapses, someone else can register it after a grace period.

For a UK business, .co.uk is the familiar choice and signals you are based here. Keep it short, easy to spell and easy to say over the phone.

## Why it matters for a small business

Your domain should be registered in your name or your company's name, with login details you control. If a web designer registers it in their own name and you fall out, you can lose your website address and email in one go. Check who the registrant is.

**Example:** A plumber chooses smithplumbingexeter.co.uk, registers it in his own name through a registrar, and sets it to renew automatically so it never lapses.