> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.hiveku.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Buying a Domain

> Search for a domain and register it through Hiveku

Buy a domain from **Settings > Domains** and connect it to any of your sites.

## Search

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Settings > Domains">
    Find the **Find a domain** panel at the top of the page.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Type a name">
    Enter a name on its own, like `yourbusiness`, to see it across every extension we offer. Enter a full domain, like `yourbusiness.com`, to check only that one.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Narrow the results">
    Filter by extension, show available names only, or sort cheapest first.
  </Step>
</Steps>

We currently offer `.com`, `.net`, `.org`, `.co`, `.io`, `.shop` and `.agency`.

<Info>
  Some names are marked **Premium**. These are priced by the registry rather than at the standard rate, and the price shown is the real one for that specific name.
</Info>

## Pricing

Click **Buy** on an available name and we fetch the exact terms for it.

You will see two numbers, and they are frequently different:

* **Registration** is what you pay now, for the term you choose
* **Renewal** is what it costs each year afterwards

<Warning>
  A promotional first year is common across the industry. We always show you the renewal price before you pay, rather than assuming it matches. If we cannot read a renewal price for a particular name we say so instead of guessing.
</Warning>

Choose a term of 1, 2, 3, 5 or 10 years. Longer terms are priced by the registry and the total updates when you change it.

## Your details

The registry requires a complete, accurate contact record for every domain. This is an ICANN rule, not a Hiveku one, and the record is attached to the domain itself.

<Warning>
  **Use an email address you actually read, and not one on the domain you are buying.** The registry emails you to confirm these details, and if nobody clicks that link within fifteen days the domain is suspended. A brand new domain has no working email yet, so an address on it cannot receive the message that keeps it alive.
</Warning>

You will need a first and last name, email, phone, street address, city, postal code, and a two letter country code. Company and state are optional depending on where you are.

## Register

Tick the registration agreement and click **Register**. We charge the card on file for your Hiveku account.

What happens next:

<Steps>
  <Step title="We check the name is still free">
    Availability is re-confirmed against the registry at the moment of purchase, not from a cached result. If somebody registered it while you were filling in the form, you are told and not charged.
  </Step>

  <Step title="We charge your card">
    The amount shown, to the card on your Hiveku account.
  </Step>

  <Step title="We register the domain">
    The domain appears in your Connected domains list.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm your contact details">
    Watch for the verification email from the registry and click the link. Fifteen days.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  If anything goes wrong partway through, you are not charged for a domain you did not get. If we lose contact with the registry mid-registration we hold the order, confirm what actually happened, and tell you the outcome rather than trying again and risking a double charge.
</Note>

## Requirements

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="A card on file">
    Domains are charged immediately and renew every year, so your account needs a payment method in **Settings > Billing** before you can buy one.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="An account in good standing">
    Accounts with an outstanding billing issue cannot buy domains until it is resolved.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Accounts billed by an agency">
    If your Hiveku account is managed and billed by an agency rather than by Hiveku directly, domains are bought through them. Ask them to register it and we will connect it to your site.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Connecting it to a site

A newly registered domain is not pointed at anything yet. Attach it to a project from the domain's row, and we handle the DNS records and the certificate.

See [Custom Domains](/publishing/custom-domains) for how a domain reaches a specific project and environment.