At DreamHost you can purchase a domain registration without having to purchase an account. You also have the option of adding a domain registration to an existing account. This article explains how to add a registration both ways.

You can also view a list of available domains and their pricing at the following page:

• Complete list of domains and pricing

1. You can purchase a domain registration from DreamHost on the following page:
   • https://www.dreamhost.com/domains/
2. On this page you can search for the domain you wish to purchase.
3. Click the 'Buy now' button when you're ready to purchase.
4. This opens the signup.dreamhost.com page where you can create your FREE registration only account.
5. Choose how many years you would like to purchase the registration for and click the 'Register Now' button.
6. On the final page, enter your personal information which is used to assign the domain ownership to you.
7. At the bottom, enter your credit card information and click Place order now.

Once purchased, you'll have access to your panel. In this panel you can update the domain's DNS settings.

In this way you can purchase the registration at DreamHost, but point the DNS to another hosting company to host the site there. You can also choose to leave it in your DreamHost account for future use.

1. Log into your panel.
2. Navigate to the Registrations page.
3. Enter the domain you wish to purchase in the text field.
4. Click the Search button to confirm it's available.

5. If it is, click 'Add For $' button to add it to your cart.

6. To the right you'll see it's been added to your cart. Choose how many years you'd like to add it for, then click Proceed to Checkout to purchase.
7. On the next page enter your personal details. This information is used to assign the domain registration to you. Click the Continue button.
   

   Make sure that the phone number you enter does not have any spaces in it.

8. On the final page you can confirm how many years you would like to own this domain for.
9. Click the Proceed to Payment Entry button.
10. On the final page you can review the total cost. Click Register now! to complete the purchase.

After logging into your panel, you can see the domain registration is set to DNS Only. This means you have control over where the DNS records are pointed. 

By default they are set to DreamHost. If you wish to point them to another hosting company you can either create custom DNS records or update the nameservers. View the following articles for details:

As mentioned above, once registered, your domain's nameservers are set to DreamHost. These can take 24-72 hrs to fully propagate online.

• DNS propagation overview

If you add the domain to a web server to be hosted, those records can take around 6 hrs to update.

To minimize the time for the site to resolve online, it's recommended that you add hosting in your panel right away.

• How do I add a domain?

That way, when the nameservers have updated, your site will automatically resolve.

It’s possible to delete a domain registration within 5 days of purchase. This is often necessary if it was misspelled. However this time period is not available for certain TLDs. Depending on the TLD you purchased, it’s possible there is no grace period at all. Contact support immediately if you wish to reverse your recent purchase.

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