Guide
Getting your domain, in your own name.
Your domain (yourbusiness.com) is the address of your website and your email. It should belong to you, not to your web designer. This takes about 15 minutes, and you only do it once.
The short version
- Register the domain yourself, at a registrar that charges close to cost: Cloudflare Registrar or Porkbun.
- Use an email address you will keep for years, and put your own name or business name on the registration.
- Turn on two-step login (2FA) and auto-renew before you do anything else.
- Give Graft Labs limited access to the DNS settings only. Never send a password by email.
Step 1: pick a registrar
Cloudflare Registrar sells domains at the price the registry charges, with no markup, and your DNS is managed in the same free Cloudflare account. This is the easiest option to hand off, because you can invite Graft Labs with access to your one domain and nothing else. On October 29, 2026, a .com was listed at $10.46 a year.
Porkbun is also low-cost and simple, with free WHOIS privacy, free URL forwarding and phone support. On October 29, 2026, a .com was listed at $11.08 a year for registration and renewal.
Either is fine. Check the renewal price before you pay, not only the first-year price. Prices change, so the checkout page has the final number.
Step 2: choose the name
- Short, easy to say on the phone, and easy to spell. Your business name, or your business name plus your town or trade.
- A .com if you can get one. Avoid hyphens and odd spellings.
- Don’t buy add-ons you don’t need: website builders, hosting, paid email bundles or “SEO” packages at checkout.
Step 3: register it in your name
- Create an account at the registrar (Cloudflare sign-up, or sign up on porkbun.com) with your business email or a personal email you will keep. Not an address at your old web designer.
- Search for the name and buy it for 1 year (or more if you prefer). Cloudflare explains each screen in Register a new domain. Put your own name or your business name as the registrant.
- Keep WHOIS privacy on. Both registrars include it free.
- Use a payment card that won’t expire soon, so the renewal goes through.
Step 4: lock the account down
- Turn on two-step login (2FA) in the account’s security settings. An authenticator app or a security key is best. How-to: Cloudflare 2FA, Porkbun app-based 2FA or Porkbun security key. Save the backup codes somewhere safe.
- Turn on auto-renew for the domain. A lapsed domain takes your website and your email offline, and getting it back can cost $200 or more in restore fees. How-to: Cloudflare auto-renew, Porkbun auto-renew.
- Leave the transfer lock on. It stops anyone moving the domain away without your say-so. Where to find it: Cloudflare domain management; at Porkbun it is the lock icon next to the domain (Porkbun lock and auth code help).
- Add a calendar reminder a month before the renewal date to check that your card is still valid.
Step 5: hand off the DNS settings (no passwords)
If you used Cloudflare (recommended)
- In your Cloudflare dashboard, open Manage account, then Members, then Invite members. Cloudflare’s own steps: Manage account members.
- Enter
[email protected]. - Under the permission policy, choose the scope Specific domain and pick your domain. Choose the role Domain DNS. Nothing else. (What each role can do.)
- Send the invite and reply to my email to say it is done. I add the website record, and you can see every change in your account.
- One small step for you: in your domain, open Rules, then Templates, and use Redirect from root to WWW (Cloudflare’s instructions). It sends people who type yourbusiness.com to www.yourbusiness.com. If you would rather I do this too, choose the role Domain Administrator for your one domain instead of Domain DNS. It still does not reach your billing, your members or your other domains.
You can remove Graft Labs from Members at any time. When you leave, I remove myself within 5 business days anyway.
If you used Porkbun or another registrar
You add two settings yourself in the domain’s DNS screen (at Porkbun: How to add DNS records). I send you the exact site address to use in the first one.
| What | Type | Host / name | Points to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Website | CNAME | www | the address I send you, ending in .pages.dev |
| Bare domain | URL forward (permanent, 301) | blank or @ | https://www.yourbusiness.com |
At Porkbun, the second one is under URL Forwarding on the domain (How to set up URL forwarding). Pick “permanent (301)” and keep the path. If your registrar has no forwarding option, tell me and we will move the DNS to a free Cloudflare account in your name instead (Cloudflare: change your nameservers).
Leave every other record as it is, especially MX and TXT records. Those run your email.
What I check afterwards
Once the records are in, I run an automatic check: both addresses load over HTTPS with a valid certificate, the bare domain forwards to www, and your email records are still in place. I send you the result. If something is off, I tell you exactly which setting to change. You can also look up your records any time with Google Admin Toolbox Dig.
Questions people ask
Why should the domain be in my name and not my web designer’s?
Whoever holds the domain controls your website address and your email address. If it sits in someone else’s account, you need their help to change anything, and you can lose it if they disappear or a dispute comes up. Register it yourself, in your own account, and give your designer limited access instead.
How much does a domain cost?
A .com at an at-cost registrar is roughly $10 to $12 a year. On October 29, 2026, Cloudflare Registrar listed .com at $10.46 a year and Porkbun listed it at $11.08 for registration and renewal. Prices change, so check the checkout page. Watch out for registrars with a cheap first year and a much higher renewal price.
Do I need to give you my password?
No, and please never email a password. With Cloudflare you invite Graft Labs as a member with access to your one domain’s DNS settings only, and you can remove that access any time. With other registrars you add two records yourself, and I send you the exact values.
Does any of this affect my email?
No. The website uses the www record and a redirect for the bare domain. Email uses different records (MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC), and I leave those alone. If you want email on your new domain, see the guide on moving your email.
Related guides
Already have a domain and a website somewhere else? Read switching website providers without losing your email. Want email on your domain, or moving away from email that came with an old website plan? Read moving your business email.
I’m not taking orders or payments yet, because my business registration is still being finalized, but free samples are open now.