A domain, DNS and hosting do different jobs
A domain name is the readable name people use to find your services. Registration gives you the right to use it for a defined period under the relevant rules. Hosting supplies the environment for your website. DNS publishes records that direct requests and email to the appropriate services.
You can manage these through one provider or different providers. Registering a name does not, by itself, create a website or a mailbox.
Choosing and registering a name
Choose a name you can spell and communicate easily. Check the extension and its registration requirements as well as whether the name is available. .com and .uk are top-level domains; .co.uk is a familiar registration extension within .uk.
Screenshot of the replacement site’s search form, captured on 9 October 2026. Availability and prices are checked in the client area after a search.
Use domain search and review the spelling, registration term and final amount before ordering. A search result is not a completed registration. Keep the registrant and contact details accurate and make sure the account can be recovered if the person managing it changes.
Check renewal separately from registration
Before choosing a name, review the renewal price, renewal date and applicable terms. Do not assume that an introductory registration price will remain the renewal price, or that a domain and its hosting renew on the same date.
Confirm any auto-renewal setting in the client area and keep the payment/contact details current. Use an additional reminder for names important to your business. If a domain has expired, contact support promptly to establish the recovery route; recovery windows, fees and eligibility depend on the extension and registrar, so this guide does not promise a universal grace period.
Know what a DNS change affects
- A and AAAA records: connect a name to IPv4 and IPv6 addresses respectively.
- CNAME records: make one DNS name an alias of another; use the exact target supplied for the service.
- MX records: identify the servers responsible for receiving email for the domain.
- TXT records: hold text used for purposes such as verification and email authentication.
- Nameservers: identify the authoritative DNS service for the domain. Changing them can affect the whole zone, including website and email settings.
Save the current records before a planned change. Preserve the email and verification records needed by the services you intend to keep. Changing only the website’s hosting destination may not require moving mailboxes or the domain registration.
DNS answers can be cached. Different users may see old or new records during a transition, and a TTL is a cache instruction rather than a guaranteed global completion time. Check the authoritative records and test from appropriate networks instead of assuming every change completes instantly.
Transfer and migration are separate
A registrar transfer changes who manages the domain registration. A website migration moves its files, database and configuration. An email migration moves mailbox data and settings. Plan the three together when necessary, but do not treat one as automatically completing the others.
Ask our team about the current transfer route for your extension. Transfer locks, authorisation codes and registry-specific steps vary. Avoid publishing those codes in a support screenshot or sending credentials in an initial contact form. Keep access to the current registrar and hosting until the move is verified.
Sources and further help
The MDN domain-name guide explains names, registration and DNS at an introductory level. RFC 1035 defines foundational DNS record behaviour. Check the client area’s current order/renewal information and ask Premium Hosting for account-specific details.