Overview
This article provides general information about domain registrations at DreamHost.
Background
A domain registration is the name of your website (e.g., example.com), which must first be purchased in order for the site to display online. There are a variety of different names and Top Level Domains (TLDs) that you can choose from in order to register.
Purchasing a domain to host your site
Generally speaking, there are three steps to get your site online:
- Purchase the domain registration (the name of your site).
- Purchase a hosting plan.
- Add your site to it.
The first step is to register a domain, which includes purchasing it, providing contact information for the registrant (the owner of the domain name), and assigning the nameservers that control the domain's DNS settings.
WHOIS information
The registration information for any domain name can be looked up with a WHOIS search. See this article to learn more about WHOIS information and how you can retrieve it for your domain name.
The common .COM/.NET/.ORG/ and .INFO (as well as other TLDs) offers privacy for the contact information you provide when you register. However, other TLDs may not offer any privacy protection. See this article for a list of registrations that do not support privacy at DreamHost.
How to manage domain registrations
The following sections describe how to perform various tasks on a domain.
Using a free registration
See this article to learn more about the free registration offered with Shared Hosting and DreamPress plans in this article.
Registering multiple domains
DreamHost allows you to register multiple domain names, such as example.net, example.store, and example.club, in a single sign-up process through the panel.
You can read more about how to register multiple domains in this article.
Renewing a domain
Visit the renewals article for details on how to renew your domain registration at DreamHost.
The latest pricing can be found in the List of Current TLDs and Pricing table, which dynamically generates the most up-to-date pricing info for new domain registrations and domain renewals.
Transferring a domain
For an overview on how to transfer your registration to DreamHost, or away from DreamHost, please review the following articles.
Transferring a domain registration between DreamHost accounts
See this article for information on how to transfer a domain registration between DreamHost accounts.
Hosting your domain registration purchased elsewhere
If you previously purchased the registration at another company, you must update your DNS settings at that company. See this article for more information.
How to change the spelling of a new registration
Every domain purchased is unique on the Internet. Even if a domain name has a single-letter difference in spelling, it's still considered a completely different domain name.
This means that if you misspelled a domain when you purchased it, there is no way to adjust its spelling. The only option is to purchase a new domain with a different spelling.
Refunding a misspelled domain
Domain registrations end in different TLDs such as .com, .net, .io, .life. Each of these has different rules as to when or if you can cancel the registration after it's purchased. Contact support immediately if you need to cancel a new registration.