How to Set Up a Domain for a Client

The domain causes more trouble than any other part of a website project, usually years later, when nobody remembers who registered it or whose card it renews on. Getting it right at the start takes a few minutes.

This guide covers the decisions you need to make, the DNS basics in plain language, and how to hand things over cleanly.

First decision: whose name is it in?

This matters more than anything else in this guide.

Option A: registered in the owner's name (usually best)

The domain is registered to the business owner, with their contact info, in an account they own. You either set it up with them or they give you access to manage it.

• Pros: No question about who owns it. If they ever leave you, they keep their web address. Builds trust, especially with owners who got burned before.
• Cons: A bit more coordination. You may need them to create an account or approve something.

Option B: registered in your account

You register it yourself, pay for it, and bill it into your fee.

• Pros: Simpler for you. You can manage DNS without waiting on the owner.
• Cons: If you lose touch, get sick, or the relationship ends badly, the owner may not be able to get their own domain. That's a big deal for them.

If you go with option B, put in writing that the domain belongs to the business and that you'll transfer it to them on request. Then actually do it when asked. Never hold someone's domain hostage, even over an unpaid bill.

Second decision: choosing the name

If the business doesn't have a domain yet, help them pick one:

• Use the business name if it's available: businessname.com.
• Add the town or trade if not: businessnametown.com or businessnameplumbing.com.
• Keep it short and easy to say on the phone. They'll be reading it out loud to customers.
• Avoid hyphens and odd spellings that people won't remember.
• Stick with .com when you can. It's what people type by default. Other endings work, but customers may type .com by habit.

Search for availability at any domain registrar before you mention a name to the owner, so you're not promising something that's taken.

Third: where to register it

A registrar is the company you buy the domain through. There are many well-known ones and they all do the same basic job. When choosing, look at:

• The renewal price, not just the first-year price, which is often discounted
• Whether privacy protection is included (hides the owner's personal info from public lookup)
• How easy the DNS settings are to manage

DNS in plain language

DNS is how a domain name gets connected to the actual website. Think of it as the phone book: the domain is the name, and DNS records say where to send people.

The records you'll see most:

• A record: points the domain to a server's address (a string of numbers). Often used for the bare domain, like businessname.com.
• CNAME record: points one name to another name. Commonly used for "www," pointing www.businessname.com to wherever the site lives.
• MX records: tell email where to go. These control whether the business's email works.
• TXT records: used for verification and email settings.
• Nameservers: decide which company's DNS settings are in charge at all. Changing these hands all DNS control to a different provider.

Your website host will tell you exactly which records to add. Usually it's one or two records, and you copy them from the host into the registrar's DNS settings.

Don't break their email

This is the most common way a domain setup goes wrong. If the business already uses email on their domain (like [email protected]), their MX and related records are what keep that email working.

Before you change anything:

1. Look at their current DNS records and take a screenshot or write them down.
2. Only change the records the website needs, usually the A record and the www CNAME.
3. Leave the MX and email-related TXT records alone.
4. Be very careful about changing nameservers. If you switch them, you have to recreate every existing record, including email, at the new provider.

If you're not sure what a record does, don't delete it.

Connecting the site

The general steps, which vary a bit by host:

1. Add the domain in your website host's settings.
2. The host gives you the DNS records to add.
3. Log in to the registrar and add or update those records.
4. Wait. Changes can show up in minutes but sometimes take longer to spread everywhere.
5. Check that the site loads at both businessname.com and www.businessname.com.
6. Confirm the padlock (https) shows up. Many hosts set up the security certificate automatically once DNS is correct.
7. Test it on your phone, on cellular data, not just your home Wi-Fi.

If the business already had an old website, connecting the domain to the new site replaces it. Make sure the owner knows and has approved that before you switch.

Renewals and who pays

Domains renew every year (or every few years, if paid ahead). If a renewal is missed, the site and email can go down, and an expired domain can eventually be bought by someone else.

• Turn on auto-renew, always.
• Decide who pays and write it down. Common setups: the owner's card is on file at the registrar, or you pay and include it in the monthly fee or bill it yearly.
• Make sure the contact email on the domain is one someone actually reads. Renewal notices go there.
• Put the renewal date in your calendar anyway.

Handing over control

At some point an owner may want full control, or may move to another designer. Make it easy:

• If it's in their account, give them the login info they need (or remind them they already have it), and remove your access if they want.
• If it's in your account, start a transfer to their own account at the registrar of their choice. Registrars have a standard transfer process, usually involving an authorization code.
• Send them a short note listing the current DNS records and what each one does.

A clean handoff protects your reputation. Business owners talk to each other.

Keep simple records

For each client, note:

• The domain and the registrar
• Whose account it's in
• The renewal date and who pays
• What DNS records you changed and when
• Whether email runs on the domain, and through which provider

Rover can put a finished site live on the business's own domain when they're ready to go from preview to launch. The domain decisions above still apply: whose name it's in, who pays the renewal, and keeping their existing email working. For the money side of the project, see how to get paid for selling websites, and for pricing domain costs into a plan, the monthly vs one-time guide.