Domain name

A domain name is the web address you enter into a browser to access a website, e.g., ‘ovhcloud.com’. You can also use it to create a professional email address (yourname@yourcompany.com), adding a touch of legitimacy to your business.

A domain name is made up of several elements.

• Radical: corresponds to the name of your company, brand or project. This series of letters and/or numbers must be unique and is essential to establishing your online identity.
• Extension (aka TLD, or Top-Level Domain): designates the last part of the domain name. These are .com or .net, for example.

To reserve a domain name, you will need to request one from the organisation that manages it. In the UK, for example, .uk domain names are issued by Nominet UK. As a Nominet UK-accredited registrar, OVHcloud facilitates all of the steps and operations required to register your domain.

Choose a name that is simple, memorable, and easy to type. Web users should not need to second-guess the spelling of your domain name. It’s also worth considering its use as an email address; some special characters may be rejected by email protocols. By opting for a logical, easily readable name, your website’s visitors can rest assured that your site is trustworthy.

Choose a strategic name. Web users should be able to understand your main business easily through your website’s name. We strongly recommend exploring the full range of extensions available in our catalogue, to find the very best domain name for your project. If your website has an e-commerce aspect, you should take into account its commercial function so that your visitors are not confused. Before registering a domain name, think carefully about the online image strategy you want to adopt.

Choose a domain name that boosts your organic SEO ranking. To get the best SEO ranking, describe your business by combining keywords with strategic extensions. Your domain name should be related to your website’s content, and reflect its purpose. It’s also important to take local SEO into account—so for example, if your business is mainly located in the UK, opt for a .uk extension. Please note that it’s advisable to avoid hyphens—especially the underscore, which can be misinterpreted by search engines.
Read our full guide on choosing your domain name.

Select a similar name, or an alternative extension. You’re sure to find the one that suits you in our full list of extensions. Try out several domain names, and choose the extension that best fits your business.

Contact the owner. Get more information on a domain name with the WHOIS service. The domain name owner’s contact information is usually available on the website that is currently using your target domain name.

Check the secondary market. In some cases, the domain you are looking for is already listed by its owner, and available on the secondary market. In this case, the search results include a label indicating that it’s available to buy. OVHcloud can then act as a trusted third party responsible for carrying out the transaction and transfer operations. Find a secondary market domain name.

The price of a domain name depends on its rarity, accessibility and reputation. Specifics also vary based on the extension chosen and the stage of its lifecycle.

• Registration: this is the initial fee you pay to get a domain name.
• Renewal: your domain name is renewed yearly at a specific price.
• Transfer: if the domain is currently hosted with another provider, you can transfer it to OVHcloud at an exclusive rate.
• Restoration: If the domain name isn’t renewed promptly, it can be recovered through a restoration process.

OVHcloud prices are clear, with no hidden fees. The price you see for renewal, which includes ICANN fees, is clearly displayed before you finalise your order, no billing surprises! Some plans come with a free or discounted domain name, particularly our web hosting plans.

Before you reserve a domain name, you need to evaluate your business needs. If your primary focus is in the UK, a .uk domain name will be more appropriate. If you have an online store, a .shop domain may be a good choice. Remember that the full name should be easily readable and understandable to your visitors, so that it’s perceived as consistent and secure.

You will need to order a web hosting plan and link your domain name to it. You can do this easily via the OVHcloud Control Panel.

Configure your domain name and easily manage your DNS records using our guides and dedicated web pages. We designed our services to make them easy to use, and save you time.

By choosing OVHcloud to create your domain name, you can benefit from more than 25 years of expertise and more than 900 available domain name extensions. This way, you can choose one that best suits your budget and business. We protect your domain name against fraudulent transfers. You can also get your first 100 MB of web hosting free with your domain name, to help you launch your projects. You can choose from a wide range of standard and premium domain names to cover all of your needs and activities.

A premium domain name is a short, optimised and generic name. It’s easy to remember, and ranks highly on search engines. For these reasons, higher prices are applied to premium domain names. This is to differentiate them from less generic names. The advantage of a premium domain name lies in its high marketing value. Premium domain names are what generic keywords are to search engines: a powerful asset that, due to their generality or association, enables you to increase the visibility of your site to internet users.

You can change your domain name (change, transfer, redirection) via the OVHcloud Control Panel. OVHcloud offers simple DNS management to connect your domain to a website, mailbox, or service. If you decide to change your name, you should also consider using web hosting to ensure your online presence stays active.

A WHOIS search (or RDAP) retrieves information on a domain name holder (name, organisation, technical contacts, etc.). Keep in mind, this data may be hidden by a WHOIS privacy configuration, which is activated by default at OVHcloud and in compliance with regulations. You can still, however, use these tools to check if a domain has been registered, for how long, and with which registrar.

Domain name registries are organisations that manage a large number of domains. In the UK, the organisation responsible for administering .uk TLDs is Nominet UK. Similarly, the organisation that manages generic .com domains is Verisign. When you reserve a domain with OVHcloud, its name is linked to the data stored in one of the databases belonging to the registry concerned.
Registries are responsible for overseeing the distribution of domain names. If you would like to transfer yours from one hosting provider to another, the registry will facilitate the transfer, without forcing you to choose a different name. Each registry operates according to its own rules. Some are non-profit companies, like Nominet UK, while others are for-profit, like Verisign. In all cases, registries hold the administrative data associated with the domains they manage. To do this, they create a zone file that contains the addresses of the server names. Above this organisation is the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN. This is the regulatory authority under Californian law that governs domain name registries.

A registrar is a company that allows users to register domain names for their website. For example, as an AFNIC-accredited service provider, OVHcloud can create your web addresses or domain names with the extensions .uk, .re, .yt, .pm, .wf or .tf. A registrar acts as an intermediary between you and the registry when you register a domain name. More specifically, they carry out all the necessary procedures for the service: creation, renewal, transfer, owner change, and deletion. In addition to managing your domain names, OVHcloud also offers other services, including a custom email address service, web hosting for your website or blog, and more. All of these essential services can be linked to your domain name.

You can delete a domain name by cancelling it via your Control Panel. More information is available via our guide.