Purchase, rentals and extensions
Buy a domain name
Buying a domain name means obtaining the right to use a label for a limited period, under one extension. This page sets out the domain name purchase step by step: choosing the name, comparing .fr, .com, .net and territorial extensions, checking that it is free, naming the registrant, preparing the DNS zone and reading the price over several years. Availability is checked live with the registrar, and booking opens from the results table.
What you pay for when buying a domain name
A domain name is not bought like an object. You register a right to use a label, under one specific extension, for a period that usually runs from one to ten years. When it ends, the right is renewed or it lapses: a name that is not renewed eventually becomes available again, sometimes to a competitor. The price covers that period, never a permanent ownership.
Three parties are involved. The registry holds the database for the extension and sets its rules: AFNIC for .fr, territorial registries for .gp, .gf and .mq, operators under contract with ICANN for .com and .net. The registrar, or reseller, takes the order and represents you. The registrant, finally, is the company or person listed in the database: that name, not the provider's, decides who may renew, transfer or sell the domain.
- The registry sets the rules of the extension
- The registrar takes the order and invoices
- The listed registrant holds the name and renews it
- The host publishes the DNS zone, it does not own the name
- Scope covered: France and international extensions
Choose the label before the extension
A label is chosen to be dictated over the phone, read on a card and typed without a mistake. Stay with unaccented letters, digits and an internal hyphen: no spaces, no apostrophe, no hyphen at either end. Two syllables are remembered, four are forgotten. Say the name out loud, then ask someone who has not seen it to spell it back.
Avoid misleading neighbours: a word that suggests an administration, a town hall or a well-known brand attracts a dispute faster than a customer. Check registered trademarks before printing the sign, and look at what the same label already does in other extensions. A graceful name in .fr can be unreadable next to a .net, or already held by a foreign company.
Compare .fr, .com, .net and territorial extensions
The .fr and the .com do not follow the same rules. The .fr is operated by AFNIC: it is open to individuals and companies established in the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, with an administrative contact reachable in that area. The .com and the .net are open to anyone, with no residency condition, under ICANN contracts and the uniform dispute resolution policy.
Territorial extensions follow a local registry and a charter: .gp for Guadeloupe, .gf for French Guiana, .mq for Martinique. They anchor an activity and reassure customers in the region, but they sometimes require a real link to the territory and supporting documents. The .eu requires a European attachment, and checks can happen afterwards. The .org, finally, is open, yet its expected use remains non-commercial: a shop there surprises the visitor.
Check availability and the rights attached to the name
Availability is observed, not assumed. Query the whois or RDAP of the targeted extension on the day: the answer gives the state of the name, its creation date, its expiry and its name servers. A name can be free, assigned, reserved by the registry, in the process of being deleted, or blocked by a procedure. The same label under another extension says nothing about this one: they are separate spaces.
Then check the rights: an identical or similar trademark filed at the national or European office can support an opposition, and open extensions know removal procedures. If the name is taken, two routes remain: another extension, or the secondary market, where the price follows demand rather than a published rate. Never buy an expired name without checking that it is really released: while it sits in the redemption period, the previous registrant may still recover it.
The registrant, the contacts and the records to keep
The name is registered to a registrant, with administrative and technical contacts. Register the company if the site carries its business, not the provider hosting it. Choose an email address that will still be read in three years, not a campaign address: that is where the expiry notice, the confirmation request and, one day, the transfer request arrive.
Keep the dated invoice, the registration confirmation, the expiry date and the transfer authorisation code when one exists. Those four documents settle most disagreements. Registrant data must stay accurate: an office move or a change of manager is recorded in the record. The registry keeps the details even when public display masks them under data protection law, and a false address is not a shortcut.
Read the price over three years, not the first one
An offer is judged on three lines: creation, renewal, transfer. The first year is often discounted, the renewal much less so, and the gap is paid from the second invoice. Add restoration after expiry, which costs more than a normal renewal, handling fees when a human reviews the file, and the cost of a registrant change when the company changes hands.
The price of the name does not cover everything. The DNS zone, the certificate that serves the site over HTTPS, the mailboxes, the redirection of the variants with and without www, the lock against unrequested transfers: each line has a cost, at your end or at the provider's. Ask for a quote that separates those items and states the renewal rate in writing before you open the order.
Prepare the DNS zone on the day of purchase
The technical zone says where the name points. Plan two name servers on separate networks, and check that the servers announced at the registry are the ones in the zone. For a website, one A or AAAA record is enough to start; for mail, an MX and a TXT record publishing the SPF policy, then DKIM and DMARC once mail really leaves under the domain name.
Keep cache times moderate on launch day: a zone error fixed in five minutes beats an evening of waiting. DNSSEC is added by publishing a DS record at the registry once the signatures are already served, never the other way round. Finally, check from another network that the name answers, that the certificate matches the right domain and that the www variant redirects to a single address.
After the purchase: renewal, exit and monitoring
Names are lost to forgetfulness more often than to attacks. Set a reminder thirty days before expiry, on a shared address rather than one person's mailbox. Watch the record: a change of name servers or registrant that you did not request is the first sign of a hijack. The transfer lock, when offered, can be enabled without disturbing normal use.
Exit is prepared on the day of purchase. The registrant must be able to recover the authorisation code, the access and the zone without depending on a provider's goodwill. A contract that holds the name hostage is paid for later, at the worst moment. Note the delays as well: creation takes minutes to several days, DNS propagation up to forty-eight hours, and a transfer between registrars stays locked for sixty days after a creation or a previous transfer.
Buy a domain name, in order
Each step leaves a record: a dated availability answer, a checked trademark, a named registrant, a tested zone, an invoice and a noted expiry date.
Write three labels
From favourite to fallback, with and without a hyphen. Drop those a search engine already ties to another brand.
Query every extension
Whois or RDAP for .fr, .com, .net and the territorial extension you want, on the same day. Keep the answer.
Check the trademark
Search the national and European registers. A free label can still be off limits because of an earlier filing.
Name the registrant
The company or person on record, with a durable email address. Technical contacts can be delegated, ownership cannot.
Prepare the zone
Two name servers, an A record, an MX and an SPF record. The name can be registered before the site is ready.
Pay on a quote and file it
Creation, renewal and handling fees stated separately. Store the invoice and the expiry date.
Check from the outside
Whois, resolution, page over HTTPS, mail received. Then a reminder thirty days before expiry.
Extensions, what they require and what to check
The table gives no price: rates are read on the registrar's quote, on the day of the order. It recalls what separates the extensions.
| Extension | Who it is for | What the registry requires | What to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| .fr | Business established in the European Union or Switzerland | AFNIC, administrative contact in the area | Charter and removal conditions to reread |
| .com | Any activity, no residency condition | ICANN, uniform dispute resolution | Heavily used: often taken, costly on the secondary market |
| .net | Networks, hosts, technical services | ICANN, open to anyone | Closeness to .com invites confusion |
| .org | Associations, projects, foundations | Open, non-commercial use expected | A shop there surprises the visitor |
| .eu | Citizens and companies of the Union | Verifiable European attachment | Checks can happen after registration |
| .gp | Activity linked to Guadeloupe | Territorial registry and local charter | Documents and delays vary |
| .gf | Activity linked to French Guiana | Territorial registry and local charter | Confirm availability with the registry |
| .mq | Activity linked to Martinique | Territorial registry and local charter | Never conclude from a .fr search |
Five questions before buying a domain name
These questions come back whenever extensions are compared, usually while the first year is being booked.
Is buying a domain name permanent?
No. Registration opens a right to use the name for a period, from one to ten years depending on the extension. The name is renewed before expiry, otherwise it stops answering and later becomes available. The first-year price says nothing about the renewal.
Should the .fr and the .com be taken together?
It depends on use. A French audience finds itself in the .fr, an activity reaching beyond borders in the .com. Taking both protects the label and allows a redirect, at the cost of two renewals every year.
What if the name is already taken?
Look for another extension, or go through the secondary market at a negotiated price. Before paying, check the real state of the name: an expired domain can sometimes be recovered by its former registrant during the grace period.
Can the provider be changed after purchase?
Yes, through a transfer between registrars, with an authorisation code obtained from the registrant. A transfer stays locked for sixty days after a creation or a previous transfer. The registrant does not change.
Does the whois publish my personal details?
The registry keeps the registrant's exact details. Public display for an individual is often reduced to comply with data protection law, without erasing the data. A company usually appears under its corporate name. In every case the record must stay up to date.
Check the availability of a domain name
The search queries the partner registrar live, extension by extension, and shows the status of the name. A free extension opens the booking: the registrant is entered once and the domain is registered in their name for the chosen period. No form data is kept beyond the booking, which is sent to the registrar and notified to the service.