Buy and register a domain name

A domain name, or URL, is your website's address. You can customize your domain name to your store. Domain names can end in .com, .org, .gov, and even more creative things like .co or .io. It's important to choose a domain name that's easy to remember and spell so customers can find you.

TLD is the abbreviation for top-level domain, which is the last section of your domain name. Many websites use .com as their TLD. However, as more sites enter the web, fewer domain names have become available at .com. And TLDs like .gov and .org are reserved for governments and organizations, respectively. Today, some ecommerce sites use TLDs like:

• .com
• .biz
• .co
• .io
• .store
• .name
• .info
• .net

If possible, choose a domain name that includes your brand or company name. Ideally, you’d go with yourstore.com, but that’s not always an option if someone else has already claimed that domain name. In that case, you might try using a different TLD or getting creative with your .com domain names. Drink brand Avec, for example, uses avecdrinks.com. If you’re still stuck, you can use Shopify’s domain name generator, where you can enter your brand or ideal domain name to get ideas that are available.

You can buy a domain name directly through Shopify. Use the search bar above to find your desired domain name, then follow the steps to authorize and purchase it. When you buy a domain name through Shopify, configuration and setup are completely automated. You can also use email forwarding, manage subdomains, and add international domains.

Yes, you can move your website to a different domain if you want to change your URL. When you move your website to a different domain, it is important to follow SEO best practices to minimize loss of traffic. By redirecting the old domain to the new, live domain, you can signal to Google that the new domain is the home of the old domain's content.