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A domain name is the address people type to reach your website or send you email, such as example.co.uk. You rent it for a fixed period, usually a year at a time, and keep it for as long as you renew.

Nominet, the UK domain registry. It sets the rules for .uk, .co.uk, .org.uk and the other .uk variants.

Short, easy to say, and hard to misspell. If you have to spell it out on the phone, it will cost you traffic for as long as you own it.

Search for the name, check it is available, give the registrant details the registry requires, and pay. Registration is usually complete within minutes.

The system that turns a domain name into the address of a server. Think of it as a phone book: your domain is the name, and DNS records say where requests should go.

A domain by itself does not include mailboxes. You either add a mailbox service or point your MX records at an email provider you already use.

Yes. You can transfer a domain at any time, subject to the registry's rules.

We attempt to renew the domain before it expires using your saved payment method, so it cannot lapse through forgetfulness.

Use a strong, unique password on your account, keep your contact email reachable, and leave transfer locks on where the extension supports them.

Only if you want a website to load at that address. A domain can be registered on its own, forwarded elsewhere, or used only for email.

You hold the exclusive right to use it for the period you have paid for, and you are recorded at the registry as its registrant. Nobody sells domains outright; every domain is a renewable registration.

Yes. There is no requirement to be a UK resident or company, though you must supply accurate registrant details.

Avoid them where you can. People forget hyphens when typing and leave them out when saying the name aloud.

The registration itself usually completes within minutes. Making a website appear at the address depends on DNS, which can take longer to spread.

The server that answers DNS questions about your domain. Your domain points at nameservers, and those nameservers hold your records.

Yes. Both give you MX and TXT records to add to your DNS, and your domain then works with their mailboxes.

A .uk transfer works by changing the domain's TAG, which identifies the registrar holding it. There is no authorisation code, and the change is made by the provider you are leaving.

Your website and email stop working. There is then a grace period in which you can still renew, followed by a costlier redemption period, after which the name is released.

Someone gaining control of a domain they do not own, usually through a compromised account or a transfer they should not have been able to make.

Space on a server that stores your website's files and serves them to visitors.