Make a short, practical shortlist
Start with the name customers already know. If that address is unavailable, a relevant location can help distinguish your restaurant from another business with the same name. Avoid long strings of keywords that are awkward to read or say.
Try each candidate aloud, write it in lower case and show it to someone who has not seen it before. Ask them to type it without prompting. Hyphens, repeated letters and unusual spellings can make a seemingly short address harder to communicate.
A .co.uk or .com can both be sensible choices. Availability alone does not establish that a name is suitable for your business or that you have rights to use it. Check for confusingly similar businesses and obtain appropriate advice where a name could cause a conflict.
Know who controls the domain
Before anyone registers a domain on your behalf, ask which business will be recorded as the registrant, who holds the registrar account, how access is protected and how you can request a transfer. Keep the answers with your website paperwork.
| Detail | What to record |
|---|---|
| Registrant | The business or person the domain is registered to. |
| Account access | Who manages the registrar account and account recovery. |
| Renewal | Date, price, payment responsibility and renewal reminders. |
| Where mail is hosted and which DNS records it needs. | |
| Moving later | How to transfer the domain and retain your ordering address. |
Use a contact address you can still access if the restaurant website or domain email stops working. Do not share account passwords in an ordinary setup form.
If you already have a website, preserve what works
You may be able to keep your existing address and add a clear ordering link. Before moving anything, list the current website, email service, important pages and any other services using the domain. A DNS change made only for the website can affect those other services if their records are lost.
Ask the people managing your domain and website to agree the change together. Record the previous configuration, test the ordering destination and confirm email continues to work. Keep useful old page addresses working or plan appropriate redirects when their content moves.
A new ordering link does not require changing every printed item immediately. Plan the rollout so your website, social profiles and physical menus consistently lead customers to the intended destination.
How the free domain offer from tastie. works
If your restaurant does not already have a domain, tastie. can buy an available .co.uk or .com address for free. The name, registration, ownership and renewal arrangements are agreed before registration. An unavailable or premium address cannot be promised.
You can tell us your preferred name during your application. If you already own a domain, tell us that instead so the existing setup can be considered. Read the complete offer and our restaurant website overview before choosing.
