If you've been meaning to register a domain name and went looking for Google Domains, you may have noticed it no longer exists. Google sold its domain registration business to Squarespace in 2023, and existing domains were migrated over. For small business owners trying to get a website online, that left a lot of confusion: where do you buy a domain now, what should you actually name it, and how does it connect to the site itself?

At Sorva Studios, we build and launch marketing sites and e-commerce stores for businesses across the country, and the domain step trips up more owners than almost anything else. This guide walks through choosing the right domain, registering it with a reliable provider, and connecting it to your website without breaking anything.

What a Domain Name Actually Is (and Isn't)

Your domain name is the address people type to reach your site — like `yourbusiness.com`. It's separate from three other things people often confuse it with:

  • The domain registration — your annual lease on the name (you don't "own" it forever; you renew it).
  • Hosting — the server where your website's files actually live.
  • The website itself — the design, pages, and content visitors see.

You can buy these from one company or several. A domain registrar handles only the name. Many people bought their domain through Google Domains precisely because it was simple and didn't try to upsell hosting or site builders. That simplicity is exactly what to look for in a replacement.

Why Google Domains Going Away Matters to You

If you registered a domain through Google Domains, it now lives at Squarespace by default. That's fine if you're happy there, but you are not locked in. You can transfer your domain to any reputable registrar you prefer. Two practical points:

1. Your domain still works. The migration didn't delete anything. Your name, renewal dates, and settings carried over.

2. You have options. If you'd rather not manage your domain inside Squarespace's ecosystem, you can move it. Transfers typically require unlocking the domain, requesting an authorization (EPP) code, and confirming the move — usually a 5–7 day process.

The bigger lesson from the shutdown: don't pick a registrar just because it's bundled with something else. Pick one that's stable, transparent about pricing, and easy to leave if you ever need to.

How to Choose a Good Business Domain Name

A domain name is one of the few branding decisions that's genuinely hard to undo later. Changing it after you've printed cards, earned search rankings, and trained customers to find you is costly. Get it right the first time.

Keep it short, clear, and spellable

The best domains pass the "radio test" — if you say it out loud, someone can type it correctly without asking how it's spelled. Avoid:

  • Hyphens and numbers (`my-shop-2.com` is forgettable and easy to mistype)
  • Creative misspellings that look clever but confuse people
  • Doubled letters at word boundaries (`pasta-architects` style awkwardness)

Match your brand, not just keywords

Years ago, stuffing keywords into a domain (`cheapplumbingrichmond.com`) was a tactic. Today it reads as spammy and rarely helps rankings. A clean brand name builds far more trust — and trust is what turns a visitor into an inquiry. If your business is "Maple & Vine Bakery," `mapleandvine.com` beats `bestbakerygoods.com` every time.

Choose the right extension

`.com` is still the default people assume and type automatically. Get it if you reasonably can. Solid alternatives when `.com` is taken:

  • `.co` — widely recognized, common for companies and startups
  • `.shop` or `.store` — clear for e-commerce
  • Industry or local extensions only if they genuinely fit your audience

Avoid obscure extensions that make people second-guess whether your site is legitimate.

Check availability everywhere, not just the domain

Before you commit, search the exact name across the social platforms you'll use and run a quick trademark check. A domain that's free but already a trademarked name in your industry is a problem waiting to happen.

Where to Register Your Domain Now

There's no single "best" registrar, but the right one for a small business should be transparent, stable, and free of pressure to buy a website builder you don't need. When you evaluate options, look for:

  • Honest renewal pricing. Some registrars lure you with a $1 first year, then renew at a much higher rate. Read the renewal price, not just the intro offer.
  • Free WHOIS privacy. This hides your personal name, address, and phone number from public domain records, cutting down spam and scam calls. It should be included, not an upsell.
  • Easy DNS management. You'll need access to DNS records (more on that below) to connect your site. Make sure the dashboard isn't locked down.
  • Straightforward transfers. A good registrar lets you leave without a fight. That's a sign they're confident in their service.

You don't need to bundle hosting with your registrar. In fact, keeping your domain registration separate from your hosting can make future migrations cleaner — if you ever change web providers, your domain stays put and you simply point it somewhere new.

How Your Domain Connects to Your Website

This is the part that intimidates people most, but the concept is simple. DNS (Domain Name System) is like a phone book that tells the internet, "when someone types this domain, send them to this server." A few record types do almost all the work:

  • A record — points your domain to a server's IP address.
  • CNAME record — points a subdomain (like `www`) to another domain name.
  • MX records — direct your email to the right mail service (important so you don't accidentally break your business email when changing your website).
  • TXT records — used for verification and email security (SPF, DKIM, DMARC).

When we launch a site for a client, connecting the domain usually means updating the A and CNAME records to point at the new site, while carefully leaving MX records untouched so email keeps flowing. Done correctly, the switch is seamless and visitors never see downtime.

The nameserver vs. DNS-record question

You'll generally connect a domain one of two ways:

1. Update DNS records at your registrar to point to your site. This keeps control at the registrar and is the most flexible approach.

2. Change nameservers to hand DNS control to another provider entirely.

For most small businesses, updating a couple of DNS records is enough and keeps everything in one familiar place. We typically recommend that route because it makes future changes — adding an email service, verifying a marketing tool — far easier.

Common Domain Mistakes That Cost Businesses

We see the same avoidable problems again and again when owners come to us for a redesign or migration:

  • Letting the domain lapse. A missed renewal can mean losing your name to a squatter who then sells it back at a steep markup. Turn on auto-renew and keep a valid card on file.
  • Registering the domain under an employee's or freelancer's account. If they leave, you may lose access to your own business address. The domain should always be registered to the business, with the owner holding the login.
  • Buying hosting and a builder you'll outgrow. Bundled "free" website builders feel convenient until you need something custom and discover you can't easily move your site or your data.
  • Breaking email during a website switch. Changing nameservers without preserving MX records is the classic way to knock out company email for a day. This is exactly why a careful migration matters.

Where Sorva Studios Fits In

We're a Richmond, VA–based, remote-first studio that designs and builds clean, fast websites for businesses nationwide — no templates, hand-built for performance. The domain is the front door, but the house behind it is what actually earns trust and turns visitors into customers.

When we take on a project, we handle the technical handoff so you don't have to become a DNS expert:

  • We'll point your existing domain to your new site, whether it came from Google Domains/Squarespace or anywhere else.
  • We preserve your email records so nothing goes dark during launch.
  • We build the SEO foundation into the site itself — technical SEO, structured data, and clean markup — so your good domain name is backed by a site search engines and customers actually respect.

Marketing sites start at $300 and e-commerce builds start at $1,000, with a fixed-price quote delivered within 48 hours of a discovery call. If you've already got a domain sitting unused, or you're untangling the Google Domains transition, that's a perfectly good reason to start a conversation.

Quick Checklist Before You Buy

Use this before you register anything:

  • Is the name short, spellable, and brand-led rather than keyword-stuffed?
  • Is the `.com` available — and if not, is the alternative extension trustworthy?
  • Are the social handles and trademark clear?
  • Does the registrar show honest renewal pricing and include free WHOIS privacy?
  • Is auto-renew on, with the domain registered to your business?

Get those right and the hardest decisions are behind you. The domain is a small annual cost with outsized importance — it's the one piece of your online presence that everything else attaches to. Choose it carefully, register it somewhere stable, and let the website behind it do the heavy lifting of converting the people who type it in.