Domains, hosting and email

Your web address, where the site lives and a business email, explained.

• Why your business emails go to spamThe usual reasons a small business's quotes and replies land in spam, how to find out which one is yours, and the fixes in the order worth trying.
• Who owns my domain? How to checkHow to look up your domain on ICANN's free lookup tool, read the registrar, registrant and expiry date, and confirm the account is in your name.
• What is WHOIS and why your details might be publicWHOIS (now RDAP) is the public record of who holds a domain. What a lookup shows, why your name or address might appear, and how to check and hide it.
• What is web hosting? Plainly explainedWeb hosting is renting space on an always-on computer where your website lives. How it fits with your domain, the main kinds, and what a small business needs.
• What is an EPP or authorization code for a domain?An EPP code is the password that lets a domain move to a new registrar. What it looks like, where to find it at common registrars, and why yours may not show.
• What is a domain name? A plain guide for business ownersA domain name is your business's address online. How it differs from a website and hosting, who you rent it from, and what you need to keep it safe.
• What if the domain name I want is taken?When your domain is taken - how to see who has it, whether it is for sale, how to buy it safely, the traps in brokers and backorders, and good alternatives.
• What happens to your website if your host goes out of businessIf your web host shuts down, your site goes with it but your domain usually does not. Warning signs, what to do on notice, and recovering from a sudden close.
• What happened to Google Domains, and where did my domain go?Google sold its domain business to Squarespace, and domains moved over in 2023 and 2024. How to find yours, check it renews, and your options from here.
• Hosting and email from the same company: pros and consThe trade-offs of getting website hosting and business email from one company, what goes wrong when you change the site, and when splitting them is worth it.
• Website email forms vs your email address on the pageDoes showing your email address on your website bring spam? How harvesting works, what a contact form does better, and why most businesses should offer both.
• Website backups: who has a copy of your site?Who actually holds backups of your small business website, how often they should run, where to keep your own copy, and how to tell whether a restore would work.
• Website and domain accounts: keeping logins safeThe few logins that control your website, domain and email, and how to keep them safe with a password manager, your own recovery details and proper access.
• Using Gmail with your business email addressThree ways to read and send your business address inside Gmail, the exact Send mail as settings, and the traps that put your replies in spam.
• Two-factor authentication for your domain and emailHow to turn on two-factor sign-in for your business email, domain and website accounts, which method to choose, and how not to lock yourself out.
• Subdomains explained, from shop. to book. and moreWhat a subdomain is, how shop.yourdomain.com or book.yourdomain.com can point at a different service, when to use one, and the cleanup most owners forget.
• Static websites: fast, simple hosting for small businessesA static website sends ready-made pages instead of building them on request. Why that suits most small business sites, and the few things it cannot do alone.
• SSL certificates: do you need to buy one?Your site needs SSL for the padlock and https, but most small businesses never need to pay for a certificate. What to check, and when a paid one makes sense.
• SPF, DKIM and DMARC for small business ownersWhat SPF, DKIM and DMARC each do, what the records look like, the mistakes that break them, and what Gmail and Yahoo have expected of senders since 2024.
• Should you buy several domains for your business?When extra domains for misspellings, other endings or old names are worth their yearly cost, when they are not, and how to use the ones you keep.
• Shared hosting, managed hosting, builders: the differencesA plain comparison of the main types of web hosting: who does the upkeep, what each suits, what goes wrong and how hard each is to leave.
• Putting your online store on a subdomain of your websiteHow to run a Shopify, Square or similar store at shop.yourdomain.com beside your main website, the record to add, and how to make both feel like one business.
• Pointing a GoDaddy domain at a new websiteKeep your domain at GoDaddy and open your new website on it: where GoDaddy's DNS page is, which records to edit, which to leave, and the GoDaddy snags.
• Phishing emails about your domain or websiteFake "domain suspended", "expiring", "SEO" and "copyright" emails aimed at business owners, how to spot them, and how to check what is real without clicking.
• Owning your website files: why it mattersWhat owning your website really means, which platforms let you take your site with you, how designers and licenses complicate it, and what to get in writing.
• Network Solutions domains: moving or pointing themGetting into an old Network Solutions account, pointing the domain at a new website, or transferring it out, plus the add-ons and prepaid years to check first.
• Nameservers vs DNS records: what's the difference?Nameservers decide which company holds your DNS; records are the settings inside it. When to change which, and how not to lose email.
• Namecheap domains: connecting to a new websitePoint a Namecheap domain at a new website in Advanced DNS: remove the parking records, add the A and www records, and leave Mail Settings alone.
• My web designer registered my domain: how to get it backYour designer bought your domain in their account? Here is how to check whose name is on it, what to ask for, and what to do if they will not answer.
• MX records: why changing your website can break emailWhat MX records are, why a website move can silently stop your email, and the records to copy before you point your domain at a new site.
• Moving your website to new hosting without downtimeThe order of steps for moving a website to a new host so customers never see a blank page: copy, test, move email, switch DNS, and only then cancel.
• Moving your domain off WixWhether you bought your domain through Wix or only connected it, here is how to point it or transfer it away, keep your email, and leave Wix in the right order.
• Moving your business email to a new providerThe safe order for switching business email providers without losing messages, what to copy, when to change MX records and what to cancel last.
• Moving a domain away from GoDaddyHow to transfer a domain out of GoDaddy without losing email: what to check first, where the settings are, the usual snags, and when pointing it is enough.
• Microsoft 365 email and your website domainHow Microsoft 365 email and your website share one domain, which DNS records belong to Outlook, and how to move the website without cutting off your mail.
• Lost access to your domain account: recovery stepsLocked out of the account that holds your domain? The recovery steps in order, the proof registrars ask for, and how to keep the domain alive meanwhile.
• Keep your domain where it is and point it at a new siteYou do not have to move your domain to get a new website. How pointing works, when a transfer is the better choice, and what to check so email keeps working.
• How to transfer a domain to another registrarThe steps to move a domain name to a new registrar, in the right order, so your website and email keep working: unlock, auth code, approval and checks.
• How to set up a business email addressStep by step setup of an email address on your own domain with Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 or simple forwarding, including the DNS records and a final test.
• How to find who hosts your websiteClues that tell you which company hosts your website, from the footer and page code to DNS lookups and billing records, and what to do once you know.
• How to find where your domain is registeredUse ICANN's free lookup to see which company holds your domain, read the result, and track down the account when the registrar is a reseller.
• How to choose a domain name for your businessPick a domain customers can hear once and type correctly - short, a .com where possible, no hyphens or odd spellings. Tests to run before you buy.
• How much should website hosting cost a small business?Rough price ranges for shared hosting, managed WordPress and builder plans, the gap between intro and renewal prices, and the add-ons that inflate the bill.
• How long does it take for a domain change to work?Most DNS record changes work within minutes to a few hours; nameserver changes can take a day or two. Why the wait happens and how to check what customers see.
• Hosting renewal price shock: why it doubledYour hosting bill doubled because the first-term discount ended and add-ons started billing. What to cut, what to ask for, and when to move instead.
• Google Workspace email and a new websiteGetting a new website on a domain that already runs Google Workspace mail. Which records stay, which change, and the Google traps to watch.
• Email forwarding vs a real mailboxForwarding passes business mail to an inbox you already use; a mailbox stores it at your domain. What each does well, where forwarding fails, how to choose.
• Domains for nonprofits and churches: .org or .com?Should a nonprofit or church use .org or .com? What each ending signals, when to buy both, and how to pick a name that members can say, spell and remember.
• Domain transfer lock: why you can't move your domain yetThe switch you can turn off, the 60-day locks you must wait out, and holds that need a phone call. How to read your domain's status, and what to do meanwhile.
• Domain renewal: what happens if your domain expiresAn expired domain is rarely lost on day one. The timeline after expiry, what stops working, what renewing late costs, and how to stop it happening again.
• Domain renewal scam letters and emailsThat official-looking renewal notice may be a trick to move your domain or bill you for nothing. How to spot fakes, and what to do if you already paid.
• Domain registered in an old employee's nameWhen a former employee registered your business domain in their own name or account, how to get it moved to you, what proof helps, and when to call a lawyer.
• Domain privacy: should you hide your details?Domain privacy hides your name, address and phone from the public domain record. When it is worth turning on, when it is not allowed, and what it never fixes.
• Domain names for businesses that serve one townShould a local business put its town in its domain name? The real pros and cons, the naming patterns that work, and how to test a name before you buy it.
• Domain forwarding: pointing one domain at anotherHow to forward a second domain to your main website properly, with a permanent redirect, working HTTPS and email, and how to test that it works.
• Domain and hosting checklist when you buy a businessBuying a business? The domain, hosting, email and online listings are assets too. A checklist of every account to take over, and the order to do it in.
• Do I need my own domain for my business website?You can run a business website on a free address from your builder. When that is fine, when your own domain is worth it, and why email often decides it.
• Do I need hosting if I have a domain?A domain is only the name; a website needs somewhere to live. When you need separate hosting, when a builder already covers it, and when email is all you need.
• DNS explained for small business ownersDNS is the internet's address book for your domain. What A, CNAME, MX and TXT records do, and which matter when you change a website or email.
• Connecting your domain to a new websiteConnecting a domain to a new site usually means editing two DNS records and leaving the email ones alone. What to change, what to keep and how to check it.
• Connecting a Squarespace domain to another websiteKeep your domain at Squarespace, including ones from Google Domains, and point it at a website elsewhere: where the DNS is, what to remove and what to keep.
• .com, .net or .biz: which domain ending to chooseFor a US small business, .com is the safest ending. When .net, .us, .org or a trade ending makes sense, why .biz is a weak choice, and what Google thinks.
• Choosing a registrar: what matters for a small businessWhat to compare when picking a domain registrar, from renewal prices and free privacy to transfer locks, two-step sign-in and support, and what to ignore.
• Changing your domain name: when it's worth itWhen a new web address is worth the trouble, what it really costs in reprints, email and search, and how to switch without losing customers.
• Business email with your own domain: why it mattersWhy an address like [email protected] earns more trust than a Gmail address, what it really costs, and when a free address is still fine.