Domain and hosting: what you need and what to ask up front

A website needs two things: a name and a place to live. Here is how a .uz domain is registered, what hosting is for, and the one question that decides your whole year.

We wrote this article and we sell a website builder. So, plainly: the order below works regardless of us — these are the rules of the domain zone, not our pricing.

A domain is the name, hosting is the place

A domain is the name someone types in the address bar: yourcompany.uz. You don't buy it, you rent it — usually for a year, then you renew. Miss the renewal and the name is released; anyone can take it.

Hosting is the machine that stores your site files and runs around the clock. On a builder you don't buy hosting separately: the site runs on the platform itself.

The .uz zone: what is required

The Uzbek zone is not open. An individual needs a passport and PINFL; an organisation needs registration documents. Applications are reviewed, so registration is not instant and may take several days — build that into your launch date.

The price depends on the registrar and the zone (.uz, .co.uz, .com all differ). We don't print a figure here: it changes, and an outdated number is worse than none. Check the registrar's site and compare two things: the first-year price and the renewal price — they often differ.

How to pick a name

• Short, and sayable over the phone. "There's a hyphen in it" is a bad name;
• Latin letters, no confusable characters. 0 and o, l and 1 always get typed wrong;
• Reflects either what you do or your brand — not both at once;
• Check availability — a minute at any registrar;
• If the brand matters, take the near-spellings too, so typos land on you.

The one question that decides the year

Whose name is the domain registered in?

There is only one right answer: yours, on your email. If the domain sits with your contractor, you don't own the site — you rent it. While the relationship is good, this is invisible. When it sours, the name leaves with them, and everything you earned in search has to be rebuilt at a new address.

So: the registrar account is yours, the email is yours, the payment comes from you. Give the contractor access — stay the owner.

Can the site work before the domain exists?

Yes. On a builder the site opens on the platform address immediately — you can show it to a client, link it from Instagram and proofread the text. When the domain is ready, it gets connected and the address changes.

The right order is: the site works first, the name arrives second. Not the other way round — because "we're waiting for the domain" stretches into months.

In short

• A domain is a name for a year; hosting is a place for the site. On a builder you don't need separate hosting;
• .uz needs documents and can take several days;
• Compare the first-year price and the renewal price;
• The domain goes in your name. Not negotiable;
• You can launch the site without waiting for the domain.