1.1 Registering a Domain Name
Prerequisites
Before you start, make sure you have:
- A rough idea of your business name or brand name
- A credit card or PayPal for payment (~$15-40 AUD/year)
- About 15 minutes of uninterrupted time
Step-by-Step
Choose your domain extension
For Australian businesses, you have three main options. .com.au requires an ABN and signals ‘Australian business’ to customers and Google — this is the best choice for most local businesses. .com is the global default, good if you plan to operate internationally. .au is the newer short Australian extension, also requires an ABN. Our recommendation: register the .com.au first, then grab the .com as a redirect if budget allows.
Search for availability
Go to an Australian registrar — we recommend VentraIP (Australian-owned, good support), Namecheap (cheapest, reliable), or Crazy Domains (Australian, frequent sales). Type your desired domain name into the search bar. If your exact name is taken, try variations: add ‘au’, ‘hq’, or your state abbreviation. Avoid hyphens — they look unprofessional and people forget them.
Register the domain
Once you find an available name, add it to your cart. Registration is typically 1-2 years. Disable auto-renew extras — registrars love to upsell ‘domain privacy’ (already included free on most), ‘website builder’ (you don’t need it), and ‘email hosting’ (we’ll set this up properly in Section 1.3). Pay and confirm.
Verify your contact details
You’ll receive a verification email — click the link within 15 days or your domain gets suspended. This is an ICANN requirement, not optional.
Log in and find your DNS settings
After purchase, log into your registrar’s dashboard and find the DNS management section. You won’t change anything yet, but bookmark this page — you’ll be back here multiple times throughout this guide when setting up hosting, email, and verification records.
- Letting your web designer register it for you — If they register it under their account, they control your domain. If you part ways, you may lose it. Always register under YOUR account, then grant them access if needed.
- Not renewing on time — Set a calendar reminder 30 days before expiry. If your domain lapses, someone else can buy it and you’ll lose your entire web presence overnight.
- Buying too many extensions — You don’t need .net, .org, .biz, and .info. Get .com.au and optionally .com. That’s it.
- Choosing a name that’s too long — Keep it under 15 characters if possible. People need to remember it and type it.
Check that your desired domain name doesn’t infringe on an existing trademark. Search the IP Australia Trade Marks database (search.ipaustralia.gov.au) before you commit. A cease-and-desist letter after you’ve printed business cards is expensive.
You're Done When
- You can type your domain into a browser (it won’t load anything yet — that’s normal)
- You can log into your registrar and see the domain in your account
- You’ve saved your registrar login credentials securely
- Auto-renew is turned ON
- You know where the DNS settings page is