This guide is for anyone buying their first domain: for a company site, an online shop, or just to hold on to a brand name. When you finish, you'll have a domain registered in your own name and you'll know what it costs the first year and every year after. The steps show Nymwell's screens; at most other registrars the flow is much the same.
The short answer
- Buying a domain takes five steps: search the name, read the price, sign in, add the registrant once, pay. The registration usually completes within seconds of payment.
- Look at the renewal price, not only the first-year price. For most domains the first year is a promotional price and every year after it is billed at the renewal price.
- Register the domain in your own (or your company's) name. The registrar emails the address you give and you have 15 days to respond [1].
- Bought the wrong name? You can cancel for a refund within about 5 days of registering [2]; after that, turn off auto-renew and let it expire.
What do I need before I start?
- A Google account: Nymwell signs you in with Google and creates your workspace the first time.
- A card that can pay in US dollars: Nymwell bills in USD and the payment page is Stripe's.
- The registrant's details: name, email, phone (written like +1.4155550123), street address, postal code and two-letter country code. For a company, its name too.
- Two or three backup names, in case the one you want is taken.
Step 1: pick a name and check it's available
Open domain search, type a name such as kilnhouse-studio.com and press Search domains.
The result says Available or taken, with the registration price and the yearly renewal price next to it. When a name is taken, Nymwell lists alternatives you can buy.
A few rules for picking a name:
- Short, easy to say, easy to spell. If a friend can type it correctly after hearing it once, it works.
- Avoid hyphens and numbers: people mistype them when you say the name out loud.
- Pick the ending for your audience. For a developer project, see which domain extension to choose.
Check: the result shows the full name you want, marked Available.
Step 2: how much more is the renewal than the first year?
For most domains the first year is a promotional price and every year after it is billed at the renewal price, which is usually higher. In live quotes on 2026-11-03, a .com costs US$18.54 the first year and US$28.92 a year after that: US$76.38 over three years.
| Ending | First term → each renewal | Renewal vs first term |
|---|---|---|
| .com | US$18.54 → US$28.92 | 1.6× |
| .net | US$21.78 → US$31.51 | 1.4× |
| .org | US$13.35 → US$26.32 | 2.0× |
| .io | US$70.42 → US$104.14 | 1.5× |
| .co | US$39.29 → US$58.75 | 1.5× |
| .ai | US$259.77 (2 yrs) → US$259.77 (2 yrs) | 1.0× |
| .dev | US$19.84 → US$30.21 | 1.5× |
| .app | US$19.84 → US$35.40 | 1.8× |
| .xyz | US$2.98 → US$27.62 | 9.3× |
| .tw | US$29.56 → US$44.49 | 1.5× |
Prices are in US dollars and include Nymwell's margin. The last column is how many times the first-year price each renewal costs: the higher it is, the more the price jumps from year two. For a name you plan to keep, add the first year to the renewal price times the years you will hold it. Why renewals cost more, and which endings jump the most, is in why a domain renewal costs more.
Check: you know what this domain costs the first year and what it costs every year after.
Step 3: get a quote and sign in with Google
Press Get a quote → on the result. If you're not signed in, Google's sign-in page opens; choose your account.
The first time you sign in, Nymwell creates your workspace and brings you straight back to the purchase screen for that domain, so you don't search again.
Check: the screen shows STEP 2, the domain you chose and a Register for choice of years.
Step 4: first purchase only, add the registrant
The first time you buy, Nymwell asks who the domain should be registered to. The registrant is the legal holder of the domain, and you add it once per workspace.
- Fill in first name, last name, email, phone, address, city, postal code and country code. Company is optional.
- Tick that you are the registrant or authorised to act for them, and accept the Nymwell terms, the registration agreement and the registrant rights.
- Press Save registrant.
The email matters: the registrar writes to it to confirm the contact details, and if you don't confirm within 15 days the domain stops resolving [1]. Use an inbox you read every day.
You can edit the registrant later on the Billing page. Domains you already own keep their registrant; change one from its own domain page.
Check: the screen says Registrant saved. and returns to the purchase step.
Step 5: choose the years and pay
- Under Register for, choose how many years to buy now. More years means a later first renewal.
- Check the price on screen. Taxes, if any, are extra.
- If a Trademark notice appears, the name matches a trademark recorded in ICANN's Trademark Clearinghouse [3]. Read it. If you still want the name, tick I have read this notice and still want the name. If you're unsure whether you'd infringe, pick another name.
- Press Pay and continue and pay on Stripe's page.
The registrar's price is held for 40 minutes, and an unused payment link expires after about 30 minutes; get a new quote if either runs out.
The card you pay with is saved for auto-renew, which is on by default: Nymwell charges the renewal price from 14 days before expiry and, if that fails, tries again 7, 3 and 1 day before. To stop automatic charges, turn auto-renew off on the domain page or remove the card in Billing; Nymwell then reminds you 30 and 7 days before expiry.
Check: back on Nymwell, the order goes from Payment received, confirming to Registering….
Step 6: check the domain is yours
The registration usually completes within seconds of payment.
- On the Billing page, the order list shows Registered.
- The Domains page lists the domain with its expiry date and auto-renew setting.
- Run domain lookup: it shows the domain registered at Name.com, the registrar Nymwell works with, and the new expiry date.
- Open the registrant inbox, find the registrar's confirmation email and confirm.
If the order says Still working on it, the registrar's answer was unclear; Nymwell checks with the registrar before retrying and never buys twice.
How do I check that each step worked?
| After this step | Where to look | What you should see |
|---|---|---|
| Search | Domain search result | Available, with the registration and renewal price |
| Sign in | Purchase screen | STEP 2 and the domain you chose |
| Registrant | Purchase screen | Registrant saved. |
| Payment | Order list | Payment received, confirming → Registering… → Registered |
| Registrant email | Your inbox | The registrar's confirmation email, confirmed |
What should I do after buying?
A domain on its own doesn't open a website or receive email. Set up DNS next:
- Point it at a site: connect a domain to Vercel, Netlify or Cloudflare.
- Send and receive email at it: custom domain email.
- New to A, CNAME and MX records: DNS records explained.
Paying from outside the US
Nymwell bills in US dollars. If your card is issued in another currency, your bank may add a foreign transaction fee; ask your bank how much.
What if something goes wrong?
| What you see | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Taken | Someone already registered the name, or it's reserved | Pick another name or one of the alternatives |
| Ending not offered | Nymwell doesn't sell that ending | Choose another ending |
| Too many searches | Many searches in a short time | Wait a minute and search again |
| Add who the domain is registered to first | No registrant in this workspace yet | Do step 4 once |
| Fill in name, address, city, country, email and phone | A field is missing or the phone format is wrong | Write the phone like +1.4155550123 and use a two-letter country code |
| Read and accept the trademark notice first | The name triggered a trademark notice | Read it and tick the box, or pick another name |
| The price expired | More than 40 minutes since the quote | Get a new quote |
| Checkout expired | The payment link went unused for about 30 minutes | Get a new quote and a new link |
| The payment page could not open | The payment service didn't respond; nothing was charged | Try again shortly |
| Card not charged | The card was declined or can't pay in USD | Use another card in Billing, or ask your bank to allow the payment |
| Your role cannot do this | You're in someone else's workspace with a role that can't buy | Ask an owner or admin to buy, or to change your role |
| Still working on it | The registrar's answer was unclear | Don't pay again; Nymwell confirms and retries |
| Failed and refunded | The registrar refused the order | The money is back; try another name |
Questions
How long does it take to buy a domain? The registration usually completes within seconds of payment. The steps before that take as long as filling in the form; the registrant is only asked for the first time.
How much more is a domain renewal than the first year? It depends on the ending. On 2026-11-03 a .com cost US$18.54 the first year and US$28.92 a year to renew; some newer endings are cheap the first year and many times that to renew. The full comparison is in why a domain renewal costs more.
Do I need a company to buy a domain? No. A person can be the registrant. Whoever the domain is registered to legally holds it, so a domain bought for a company is best registered in the company's name.
Can I get a refund if I bought the wrong domain? Within about 5 days of registering, use Cancel this registration on the domain page for a refund [2]. After that there's no refund; turn off auto-renew and the domain is released when it expires.
What happens if I miss the registrar's confirmation email? The registrant has 15 days to respond to the registrar [1]. If you don't, the domain stops resolving and the website and email stop working. Check spam first; if the email address was wrong, correct the registrant in Billing.
Can an AI buy the domain for me? Yes. An AI assistant can search names, compare prices and prepare the order, and payment happens with your approval or within limits you set. See buy a domain with AI.
Sources
Checked 2026-11-05.
- ICANN, registrant benefits and responsibilities (respond to your registrar within 15 days): https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/benefits-2013-09-16-en
- ICANN, .com registry agreement appendix 7 (the Add Grace Period is five calendar days): https://www.icann.org/tlds/agreements/verisign/appendix-07-01mar06.htm
- ICANN, Trademark Clearinghouse and the Trademark Claims service: https://newgtlds.icann.org/en/about/trademark-clearinghouse