How to buy a domain on Vercel

Before you search, write down two or three options. A good domain:

• Is short and easy to say out loud. If you have to spell it over the phone, it’s too long.
• Has no hyphens or numbers, which people forget or mistype.
• Ends in .com if it’s available. It’s the ending people type without thinking. If it’s taken, .co, .us or one for your industry (.store, .studio) work too.
• Can include your city if the name alone is taken: yourbusinessdallas.com.

1. Go to vercel.com/domains and sign in with your Vercel account.
2. Type the name you want in the search bar, for example yourbusiness.com.
3. Vercel tells you whether it’s available and how much it costs per year. If it’s taken, try your other options.

You can also search without leaving your project: the + button on the project overview and the Buy button in the domain settings open the same search. Vercel charges the same as the registrar (the company that manages that ending) and doesn’t keep your searches for marketing.

1. Choose the domain and check the price before you pay.
2. Fill in the owner details: name, address, phone and email. They’re required for any domain, because ICANN, the organization that manages internet domains, asks for them.
3. Tip: use the same email as your Vercel account. That way your details are confirmed automatically.
4. Pay with your card. Done: the domain is yours.

WHOIS privacy (keeping your details out of the public domain directory) comes turned on for the endings that support it.

If you used an email different from your Vercel account’s, you’ll get an email to confirm your owner details. Open it and confirm it the same day: if you don’t, the domain can be suspended.

Didn’t get it? In your team’s Domains section on Vercel you can resend it or change the email.

1. Open your project on Vercel and go to Settings > Domains.
2. If your domain isn’t there yet, add it: type yourbusiness.com.
3. Vercel will recommend redirecting yourbusiness.com to www.yourbusiness.com. Accept the recommendation: that way people reach your site whatever they type.

Since you bought it on Vercel, the nameservers and DNS set themselves up. You don’t have to copy or paste any record.

Vercel creates the security certificate (SSL) by itself, the little padlock next to the address. In a few minutes, open https://yourbusiness.com on your computer and on your phone. If you see your site with the padlock, you did it.

Test it for real: open it on your phone’s data (no Wi-Fi) and send the link to someone you trust to tell you if it opens for them.

If you already use Vercel’s command line tool (the CLI), you can buy the domain with a single command:

vercel domains buy yourbusiness.com

It buys it for the team you have open in the terminal. Then continue with step 5.

Vercel doesn’t provide email, but you can have info@yourbusiness.com with another service:

• A full mailbox: Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 (paid).
• A forward to your Gmail: services like ImprovMX or Forward Email.

Each service gives you some records (MX and TXT) that you add on Vercel, in the Domains section, inside your domain. Vercel has a guide: how to set up email with your Vercel domain.

Problem	Fix
The name I want is taken	Try another ending (.co, .us, .store) or a short variation with your city.
I got an email to verify the domain	Confirm it: it’s the check of your owner details. If you don’t, the domain can be suspended.
The padlock (https) doesn’t show up	The certificate is created by itself after you connect the domain; give it a few minutes.
The site doesn’t open on my phone	Try your phone’s data or another network: some networks remember the old address for a while.
Settings > Domains shows a red warning	Open the domain right there and follow what Vercel tells you; if you bought it on Vercel, it almost always fixes itself in a few minutes.