How to purchase a domain?

A domain is a unique identifier for users to visit your website. Here are the steps to purchasing a domain

Step 1. Decide a domain name

Use a domain name that is immediately recognisable for your brand. For example if your business name is Honest Grocers, www.honestgrocers.com would be a suitable name for your business as it's brandable and lends credibility.

The next thing you need to decide is the TLD, in the image below, you can see that the top-level domain is the part at the end of your website URL.

You can choose to end with any TLD you like, but do note that each TLD has to be registered separately.

For example if you bought www.honestgrocers.com.sg, someone else can also register www.honestgrocers.com because it is a different TLD.

We recommend choosing .com at all times as it is considered by many to be the most credible TLD.

If the .com TLD is not available, you can choose a Local TLD that includes your country's initials, for example in Singapore, .com.sg or .sg.

Step 2. For Local TLDs, make sure you are a citizen or have a company.

For .com.sg and sg domains, there needs to be proof that you are a local citizen or own a company here.

For .SG Domain - you require SINGPASS to register

For .COM.SG Domain - you require SINGPASS and company registration number.

Step 3. Find a domain registrar service

A domain registrar is a company that allows you to purchase and register domain names.

All domain name registrars are accredited by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers).

We recommend using Godaddy as it also allows you to buy .sg and .com.sg domains.

Use the search field shown above to see if the domain name you one is taken or not.

Here is an example.

Do note that .com are usually cheaper than .com.sg and .sg.

However some domains are labelled premium which means you have to fork out more for it - you should decide whether it's worth it or not in this case if not seek an alternative name or TLD.

You can see that in this scenario, honestgrocers.sg is available and much cheaper in this case, again do note that .com are usually more cheaper than .com.sg and .sg sites, this is just an outlier example.

Step 4. Purchase the domain you want

Choose the amount of years you want to register your domain for. Usually registrars give a huge discount the longer you subscribe so evaluate carefully how long you intend to have this website running.

Step 5. Register your domain with SGNIC

If you have purchased a local TLD ( .com.sg , .sg ) you should receive an email from SGNIC to verify your identity.

Simply click the link and login with your singpass or corppass and follow the instructions to verify your domain.

Step 6. Purchase your hosting

Having an address to call your own is only the first step, now you need to rent a server ( Like a computer ) to host your website files so that people can access it 24/7. The renting and management of this server is called hosting, and similarly you can do so with Godaddy.

Choosing the hosting from the same domain provider makes it easier to connect your domain to your hosting.

Click here to learn more about purchasing your hosting.