Be a master of your domain… A .co.uk domain that is.
Ok, that was a pretty bad dad joke.
But in all seriousness, purchasing a domain name is a great way to safe-keep your ideas and website address. But where does one start in securing a .co.uk, .com or even a .uk domain name?
Well, to cut through the noise, I have made this best domain registrars UK 2024 guide so you can grab a domain and get to brainstorming that next big idea!
Best of all is that this guide is tailored for those in the UK and only includes providers that charge in GBP and have a wide range of domain extensions available. Let’s begin!
What Is a Domain Registrar?
A domain registrar is an online provider that allows people to purchase domains with ease and at very affordable prices.
Along with providing a wide range of domain suffixes, each registrar must be registered with ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers).
ICANN is a non-profit organisation that governs these providers and allows them to sell domains to everyone around the world at competitive prices.
Once a domain is registered with a provider, it is then automatically added into ICANN’s databases so it can then be distributed over the internet.
While this does sound all a bit complicated, this all happens behind the scenes which enables people like you and me to registrar a domain in only a couple of minutes.
How I Picked The Best UK Domain Registrars
As a web designer of 9 years, I have had my fair share with domain registrars. With many being s**t and only a few that excel.
Also during this time, I have come to realise what’s actually important when picking a great domain registrar. Especially for those in the UK.
So here are the things that I looked our on this list and what I used to rank each provider with.
While domains typically aren’t expensive things to buy (usually only around £10 per year). The pricing can start to add up, especially if you are buying dozens of domains.
I for one have 36 domains registered. As an example, if I was paying £16 per domain, this would equal an extra £216 per year that I shouldn’t be paying. Because of this, I have only included providers that charge competitive prices.
Can you take a guess of how many TLD’s (a TLD stands for Top Level Domain and is simply an extension like .biz, .co and so on) are available on the internet?
Amazingly, there are 889 TLD’s available that a website maker can choose from. Yup. 889!
As there are so many domain suffixes available, I have picked providers that have a wide range of domains. Especially for those in the UK such as .co.uk, .org.uk, .me.uk, .net.uk, .ltd.uk or .plc.uk and the new .uk.
I have also included registrars that include the most popular suffixes such as .com, .org, .co, .net, .online and heaps more!
I’m not sure is this happens to anyone else. But whenever I got to buy something online in the UK, and it chargers in dollars instead of pounds, it’s quite irritating.
This is mainly due to the fact that I’m not entirely sure what the final prices will be. While I can convert currencies, it never seems to be accurate. Because of this, I have only picked companies that charge in good old GBP.
Another thing I considered (as this has happened to me) is the nasty renewal pricing that some domain registrars charge.
As an example, some providers will charge a lucrative price to begin with and then hike up the pricing on the second year. So while a domain might cost £1 in the first year, the renewal yearly price might be £17 for every year after.
If you plan on having a domain/ website for the long term. You can easily see how the initial price of “£1” can end up being A LOT more expensive.
While this isn’t something you would really have to contend with. It is still good to know on the off chance that if this was to happen.
Preferably, free domain transfers would be ideal, but again, this would only happen if you want to jump ship to another provider or sell the domain to someone. While not every provider offers free domain transfers in this list, I still tried my best in ranking those that do.
I’m going to tell you a story… A few years ago, I had to cancel all of my credit cards (as I lost my wallet). Silly me, I forgot to update my payment information on my domain registrar account. Whoops!
Little to my knowledge, 2 of my domains had already passed their expiration and the payment couldn’t process. Luckily, the provider I was with had a 30 day grace period where I could still pay, even after the domain expired.
This was a massive lifesaver as I would have either lost those domains or had to reregister them. Not to mention heaps of hosting issues that would have come up.
While purchasing a domain name is a very straight forward process and is almost impossible to mess up. Good customer service is still needed. But why?
This is because if you wish to use the provider to host your website (almost all of them provide this service). You’ll then want knowledgable and helpful people to support you if you ever have any issues with web hosting. And trust me, it does happen!
Best Domain Registrars UK: Top 7 Picks Of 2024
1. BlueHost: Best Web Host & Domain Provider
.co.uk Domain: Yes
.com Domain: Yes
Hosting Available: Yes
Charges in GBP?: Yes
Customer Support: 9/10
Get Your FREE .com Domain
First up on my list is BlueHost which is one of the most widely known and recommended web hosting providers in the industry.
Even this very website you are on is hosted with them! But why am I including a web host in this list? Good question!
Well for those wanting to start a website, BlueHost actually includes a free .com domain name (for 1 year and renews at £9.45) with all of their shared web hosting plans. Not bad!
Their starter plan starts at £2.33/mo (when signing up for 3 years) and includes 50GB of storage, 1-click WordPress install, awesome customer support, and unmetered bandwidth. BlueHost also provides free SSL certificates which typically cost £15 each!
So if you are after a free .com, .net, .co or .biz domain name and web hosting to start your new website on the right step, I highly recommend BlueHost. You can also check out my full BlueHost review and BlueHost coupon guide.
2. GoDaddy: Cheapest For .co.uk Domains
.co.uk Domain: Yes
.com Domain: Yes
Hosting Available: Yes
Charges in GBP?: Yes
Customer Support: 9/10
Get Your £0.01 .co.uk Domain
Next on my list is GoDaddy which I have been a customer with for the past 9 years and counting. Even this very website was registered with GoDaddy.
After using GoDaddy during this time, I have found they excel in 2 areas. These are cheap .co.uk domains (£0.99 for first year) and good customer support.
While on the topic of price, their introductory rate is £0.99 for the first year when you registrar for a 2 year period. As for the renewal price of a .co.uk domain, it is moderate £11.99 per year which is one of the best rates you can get.
This price also includes a free basic privacy protection which is a great added bonus!
As for their .com domains, GoDaddy does offer a £0.99 price for the first year. But it renews at a rate of £16.10 which is quite pricey in my opinion.
Overall, GoDaddy is a fantastic provider for those wanting to secure an affordable .co.uk domain with great customer support. Highly recommended!
3. CrazyDomains: Best For .uk Domain Extensions
.co.uk Domain: Yes
.com Domain: Yes
Hosting Available: Yes
Charges in GBP?: Yes
Customer Support: 9/10
Pick Your .uk Domain Extension
Moving onto the next pick on my best domain registrars UK list has got to be CrazyDomains.
After my research, CrazyDomains seems to provide the largest range of .uk domain extensions from .uk, .co.uk, .me.uk and org.uk. which are all a flat rate of £14 per year with no nasty renewal fee.
As for their .com domains, they are a flat rate of £8.20 per year. However, there is the option to save extra for opting for a longer time frame. Below is their pricing structure for .com domains:
- 1 year: £8.20 per year
- 2 years: £8.00 per year
- 3 years: £7.67 per year
- 5 years: £7.20 per year
- 10 years: £6.90 per year
As you can see, the longer you register a domain for, the cheaper the rates. Which is a great way to lock in those savings. Overall Crazy Domains is a stellar provider for anyone in the UK.
4. HostPapa: Best UK Web Host & Domain Provider
.co.uk Domain: Yes
.com Domain: Yes
Hosting Available: Yes
Charges in GBP?: Yes
Customer Support: 8/10
Get Your FREE .co.uk Domain
Up next is another fantastic web host/ domain provider that has over 500,000 websites in the UK and growing!
When comparing HostPapa to BlueHost, HostPapa really does give them a run for their money. They too provide a free domain (which also includes .uk, .co.uk, org.uk and .me.uk), 100GB of storage, unmetered bandwidth and a free SSL certificate.
As for the price, it starts at a comfortable £1.95/mo when registering for the 3-year plan with a renewal price of £6.49.
While HostPapa is a fantastic provider, I had to mark them down as BlueHost is WordPress’s top recommendation.
Overall, HostPapa is an all-round great web host and domain provider for those making a UK based small business website. Can’t go wrong!
5. Google Domains: For The Google Lovers
.co.uk Domain: Yes
.com Domain: Yes
Hosting Available: Yes
Charges in GBP?: Yes
Customer Support: 8/10
Get Your .co.uk Google Domain
Google sells domain names!?
Yup, that’s the first thought that came into my head when I found out that they provide this service. The funny thing is that they have been providing this service since 2014. But it is largely unknown.
Since that time, however, Google Domains has risen in popularity year over year as many are choosing them for a no-frills domain experience.
As for the domains available, they have hundreds to choose from with their .co.uk domains costing only £10/yr which is a flat rate.
Google Domains also has the advantage of seamlessly integrating with their Gsuite tools and many website builders in just a few clicks. Not to mention they include free privacy protection as a standard feature for all domains.
6. NameCheap: Good Alternative For Cheap Domains
.co.uk Domain: Yes
.com Domain: Yes
Hosting Available: Yes
Charges in GBP?: Yes
Customer Support: 6/10
Get Your £5.97 .co.uk Domain
Moving onto the next provider on my best UK domain registrars is NameCheap.
NameCheap is primarily known for their no-frills experience for purchasing domain names which allows them to deliver incredibly cheap .co.uk domains.
As for their .co.uk domain pricing, it costs £5.97 which is an introductory price for the first year. After that, the price reverts back to the original £7.54/yr.
Compared to its competitors, these are phenomenal prices. However, there have been several reports of poor customer service. Nonetheless, a great provider for dirt cheap .co.uk domain names.
7. FastHosts: Best UK Based Domain Provider
.co.uk Domain: Yes
.com Domain: Yes
Hosting Available: Yes
Charges in GBP?: Yes
Customer Support: 6/10
Get Your £0.01 .co.uk Domain
Lastly on this roundup list is a UK based and owned hosting provider that also offers up cheap .co.uk domains. Not to mention great hosting.
Like the other providers in this list, FastHosts provides a nearly free .co.uk domain, coming in at a massive 1p for the first year of registration. With web hosting, however, it is free for the first year.
After the first year, it then reverts back to the usual price of £10/yr which is still quite good. As for their hosting service, it starts from £2.50/mo and has 10GB storage and a long list of other features.
Overall, FastHosts is renowned domain registrar and web host!
Different Type Of UK Domain Suffixes Available
Along with picking the best domain registrar for your needs, you’ll also have to pick a UK domain extension for your domain.
While .co.uk is always a good place to start. You may want to make it more unique to the type of website you are looking to create.
So here are the active UK domain suffixes available that you can choose from (some are exclusive to the government).
- .co.uk: Used by individuals and business owners
- .uk: An alternative to .co.uk that is being released in July 2019
- .ac.uk: Used for academic institutions, further education and tertiary education.
- .gov.uk: Reserved for government agencies
- .ltd.uk: Used for limited companies
- .me.uk: Used for freelancers and individual websites
- .mod.uk: Reserved for the armed forces and MOD
- .net.uk: Used for internet service providers and IT companies
- .nic.uk: Used for network purposes
- .org.uk: Typically used for non-profit originations
- .plc.uk: Reserved for public listed companies
- .sch.uk: Reserved for local schools and education authorities
As you can see, there are TONS for TLD’s for those making a website in the UK. While most of these are reserved for specific institutions, there is sure to be one for your needs. For a full list of current, inactive and rejected domains, you can see my awesome guide on UK domain suffixes.
Things To Avoid When Purchasing a Domain
Even though purchasing a domain name is very cheap, if you aren’t careful of certain add-ons and sales tactics, then you can end up paying a pretty penny!
Below are some very typical things that you are likely to come across in the checkout process when getting your domain name.
I personally don’t opt of any of these add-ons (except for domain privacy) as they don’t provide much value (in my opinion). Also for many of these, you can get them for free or with other service providers that are experts in their field.
Privacy Protection Is Good, But Not Always Necessary
Whenever you purchase a domain name, your name, email and address goes onto the WhoIS registry so people can see who owns a specific domain.
This is a standard protocol to keep tab on who owns a domain name and keep websites accountable. However, there is a way to keep your details off the registry and that is by using privacy protection.
This service is provided by almost every domain provider and usually costs around £8 per year. Almost the same price as the actual domain!
So if you are not worried about keeping your personal information attached to your domain. Then you can skip this option and save a few extra pounds.
Never Buy an SSL Certificate With Your Domain
One trap I see many people fall into (which I have also fallen for before) is that they buy an SSL certificate when they purchase a domain name.
To translate, a Secure Sockets Layer, most commonly known as an SSL certificate are those padlocks that we see in front of a domain name. It also shows as https:// as opposed to the older http:// which signifies that there is no SSL activated.
Ok, so why is this important? Well, whenever we have an SSL activated on our website, we are sending an encrypted connection between the server and the internet surfer. This results in better security and privacy for someone visiting your website.
Coming full circle, you should never pay for an SSL certificate. This is mainly due to the fact that any good web host worth their weight in salt will provide one for free. But for some reason, many domain providers till charge over £17 per year for this!
Avoid The Add-On Email Services
Another thing I recommend people to avoid is the email add-on when purchasing a domain. Which typically costs around £5/mo.
While this can be useful and give you a professional email address like info@domain.co.uk. The major downside is that you’ll have to use the email portal integrated into their platform. Which is old school and clunky to say the least. Not to mention there is typically no accompanying smartphone app.
Instead, I would recommend Google G Suite that uses the backbone of Gmail with a professional email layered on top. Also with this layout, you’ll get access to Google Docs, Drive and all their online cloud tools. As for the price, it’s actually cheaper than using a domain registrar in most cases.
Think Twice Before Hosting
Whenever you purchase a domain from a registrar, there will always be an option to include website hosting.
From my own experience, I would stay away and leave the web hosting to established web hosts like BlueHost or SiteGround which are experts in the field.
Also by choosing a dedicated hosting provider, you’ll get more storage, bandwidth, features, while also being cheaper most of the time. For more information on web hosting, you should definitely check out my best web hosting guide for UK!
SEO Boost Is Just Silly
Last on my list of things to avoid is SEO boost. For those that are just beginning may think this is a good thing. But in actual fact, this doesn’t enhance your traffic at all, but just rather submit your website to Google.
Which, by the way you can do yourself in only a couple of minutes that will get you the same results! For more on how to get a website up and running, check out my how to make a website guide where I walk you through step by step with screenshots.
What Domain Suffix Is Best For Your Website
Whenever I make a website for a client, one of the first questions they always ask is “what domain extension should I use?”.
This is when I ask them “what type of website do you want to make?”.
Don’t you just love it when people answer a question with a question 😉. But this is actually a critical question any new website maker should ask themselves.
By asking this simple question, you are then able to see where your web traffic is most likely to come from.
As a good rule of thumb, if you plan on making a local based small business website or any website that is catered to those in the UK (just like this website). Then a .co.uk or .uk domain would be the best fit.
On the other hand, if you want to go global and reach a worldwide audience, then opting for a .com domain would be ideal.
.co.uk Vs .uk (What’s The Difference?)
If you’ve been following along with this guide, you would have seen a .uk domain name extension being included in some of the reviews. Which is quickly becoming popular with website owners in the UK.
But what exactly is it and how does it differ to the .co.uk version?
Well, simply put, it all comes down to availability. As the .co.uk domain suffix has been available since 1998, there are simply less .co.uk name options available now.
This creates a problem as new website owners have to get creative with adding dashes and numbers into their domains like wills-plumbing-london.co.uk. But this isn’t the best look, especially for a business.
So this is where the .uk domain extension comes into play. While this extension has been available since 2014, it has only been used by those who owned the existing .co.uk version.
This 5 year grace period prevents new websites from essentially taking the same name of a business and making a competing website.
As of July 2019, these .uk domains will readily be available to the public which is a great opportunity to secure a memorable and branded UK domain name.
Conclusion On The Best Domain Registrars UK
Well that wraps it up! Hopefully, this guides has helped steer you in the right direction to finding a cheap and good domain name for your new website or big idea.
If there’s anything else you would like to know about or have any questions, please let me know down below and I’ll be happy to help you!
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