British Web Design customers can buy a domain name from their dashboard, registered in their own name, or connect a name they already own. Either way the domain stays the customer's. This article covers buying a name, connecting one, DNS records, renewals and what happens on leaving.
Buying a new domain
The domains page of the British Web Design dashboard searches for a name and suggests others. Every result is checked live with the registry, so the price shown in pounds is the real one. British Web Design registers domains through Cloudflare Registrar, which sells names at cost; the customer pays that cost plus a handling charge, by card through Stripe. There is no separate management fee and no charge for the DNS or the certificate.
Before payment, the dashboard asks for the registrant details: the customer's own name, address, phone number and email address. Some registries ask for more: Nominet, which runs .uk names, asks what kind of registrant a name is for. These answers are checked before any money moves, so a name is never paid for and then refused for a missing detail. WHOIS privacy is free and always on.
Once the name is registered, British Web Design writes the records that point it at the website, and the https certificate is issued as soon as the name resolves. Nothing has to be copied or pasted. A registration that fails can be tried again from the dashboard without paying twice.
Confirming the email address
Under ICANN's rules a registry may email the registrant a link to confirm their email address, and a name whose link is never clicked can be suspended, usually within 15 days. Because the domain is in the customer's name, that email goes to the customer. The British Web Design dashboard shows a notice with the address the link went to and the deadline, and British Web Design emails an explanation. An address at the name being registered cannot receive the link, because that mailbox does not exist yet, and the dashboard says so.
Connecting a domain the customer already owns
A name registered elsewhere stays where it is. The domain's DNS page on the British Web Design dashboard shows the two records to add at the current provider, and checks them until they are right. Alternatively, the customer can move the name's DNS to British Web Design by changing its nameservers at their registrar, and then edit its records on the dashboard. Connecting a domain costs nothing extra.
DNS records
A domain whose DNS British Web Design manages has a DNS page where the customer can add, change and remove A, AAAA, CNAME, MX and TXT records, for example MX records for an email provider. The records that point the website at its server are marked, and the page warns before they are changed.
Renewals
The first year is paid when the name is bought. Each year after that is a yearly payment of its own, charged to the card saved at purchase about 30 days before the name expires, at the renewal price quoted when it was bought. An auto-renew switch on the domains page turns renewal on or off. A domain bought through British Web Design keeps renewing whatever happens to the customer's websites, until the customer switches auto-renew off.
During the free trial
During the free trial a British Web Design site stays on its staging address. A domain can be bought or connected during the trial so it is ready, and the live site is built on it when the owner presses Go live and starts paying.
Leaving
A domain bought through British Web Design is registered to the customer, not to British Web Design. If the customer leaves, the name goes with them: British Web Design does not hold it back and charges no transfer-out fee. A name connected from elsewhere never moved, so it can simply be pointed somewhere else. See Cancelling and what you keep.
Questions
Do I own my domain name with British Web Design?
Yes. A domain bought through British Web Design is registered in the customer's own name, with the customer as the registrant, and it stays theirs if they leave. There is no transfer-out fee.
Can I use a domain I already have with British Web Design?
Yes. A name registered elsewhere stays with its current provider. The British Web Design dashboard shows the two records to add there and checks them until they work, at no extra cost.
How much does a domain cost through British Web Design?
The price is shown in pounds before buying: the cost price of the name plus a handling charge, paid once a year. Connecting a domain the customer already owns costs nothing extra.
Which domain endings can I buy through British Web Design?
The British Web Design dashboard sells .co.uk, .uk, .com and .org names, and other endings Cloudflare Registrar can register. An ending it cannot register yet is shown as not available to buy.