This page describes how to search for an available domain name and register the domain by using Cloud Domains. Cloud Domains lets you to choose your DNS provider and customize your DNS settings.
After you register your domain, Cloud Domains automatically renews your domain registration as long as your Cloud Billing account stays active. You can turn off automatic renewal at any time after your domain is registered.
Before you begin
Before you start using Cloud Domains to register your domains, complete the following steps:
-
In the Google Cloud console, on the project selector page, select or create a Google Cloud project.
-
Make sure that billing is enabled for your Google Cloud project.
-
Enable the Cloud Domains API.
Set up and register a domain
To use Cloud Domains to register a domain, complete the following tasks:
- Search for a domain name.
- Configure DNS for the domain.
- Choose privacy settings for your domain.
- Specify contact details.
- Verify your contact information.
When registering a domain that is owned by a company, the registrant must provide the company's contact details, such as the email address and phone number. If the registrant provides their personal contact details, the company might lose access to the domain when the registrant leaves.
Console
In the Google Cloud console, go to the Cloud Domains page.
- Click Register domain.
- Search for an available domain, and then identify the domain name that you want to purchase. Pricing is listed for each available domain.
Click Quotas and limits.
Select next to the domain name that you want to purchase. You can add as many domains as you like, subject to your available quota. For details, seeThe total pricing based on your selection is calculated and displayed in the Search domain section. To remove a domain from your cart, click
Deselect next to the domain name.After you set up billing and complete your domain registration, Cloud Domains automatically sets the registration to Auto-renew.
Click Continue.
In the DNS configuration section, choose one of the following DNS providers for your name servers. If you are registering multiple domains, you can choose individual settings for each domain.
DNS provider Description Cost Cloud DNS Google recommends that you use Cloud DNS as your DNS provider for all your name servers. Additional Cloud DNS charges apply. For details, see the Cloud DNS pricing page. Custom name servers If you choose this option, you can use Cloud Domains to configure your name servers, and then use a third-party DNS provider to configure your DNS resource records. Check with your DNS provider. If you select the default value Use Cloud DNS (Recommended), Google Cloud automatically creates a zone for you. To edit the zone name and other details, do the following:
- In the Cloud DNS zone list, select Setup new zone.
- Make the required edits, and then click Save and continue.
If you already created a zone in Cloud DNS, Cloud Domains selects that zone by default.
If you select Use custom name servers, enter at least two name servers. To add more name servers, click Add another name server.
Click Continue.
By default, privacy protection is turned on. However, you can change the settings to one of the privacy options in the following table.
Privacy option Description Privacy protection on Choosing this option ensures that your contact information is not available to the public. To help protect your contact information and prevent spam, a third party provides alternate (proxy) contact information for your domain in the public directory. The third-party provider forwards all messages that are sent to your proxy contact information to the actual private contact information.
Cloud Domains does not offer privacy protection for all domain endings or top-level domains (TLDs). Registries, the organizations that manage domain endings, have policies prohibiting the use of privacy protection for certain TLDs.
Limit your info available to the public Choosing this option makes limited non-identifying information available to the public. The actual information available publicly depends on the domain that you have chosen. If you provide an organization name, it might be publicly visible. Make all contact info public Choosing this option makes all your contact information available to the public through the WHOIS database. For information about how to use contact privacy, see the
ContactPrivacy
section in the reference documentation.To limit which information is available to the public, select Limit your info available to the public. This option is only available for
.com
and.net
domains.To make all contact information publicly available, select Make all contact info public.
If you agree with the statement in the dialog, click I agree.
Click Continue.
Enter your contact information for the domain, which is necessary for ICANN to reach you if there are any problems. By default, the same contact details that you enter are applied to the registrant, administrative, and technical contacts. To enter different information for each type of contact, you can edit your contact settings later.
If you are registering more than one domain, you can choose to apply the same contact details to all domains or choose to enter different contact details for each domain.
Click Register.
Processing your registration can take a few minutes.
Cloud Domains or Squarespace sends a verification email to the email address that you enter.
gcloud
To search for an available domain name, use the
gcloud domains registrations search-domains
command:gcloud domains registrations search-domains SEARCH_TERM
Replace
SEARCH_TERM
with any non-empty string to search for a domain name, such asexample
. This search returns suggestions for possible domain names that you can register.To check up-to-date availability for a domain name and get the parameters needed to register a new domain, including price, availability, supported privacy modes, and notices, use the
gcloud domains registrations get-register-parameters
command:gcloud domains registrations get-register-parameters DOMAIN_NAME
Replace
DOMAIN_NAME
with the domain name that you want to check availability for, such asexample.app
.Your output looks similar to the following:
availability: AVAILABLE domainName: example.app domainNotices: ‐ HSTS_PRELOADED supportedPrivacy: ‐ PRIVATE_CONTACT_DATA ‐ PUBLIC_CONTACT_DATA yearlyPrice: currencyCode: USD units: '12'
You can choose a DNS provider for your name servers based on the DNS provider options explained in the overview. If you choose Cloud DNS as your DNS provider, you must first create a managed public zone for your domain.
To create a managed public zone, use the
dns managed-zones create
command:gcloud dns managed-zones create CLOUD_DNS_ZONE_NAME \ --description="DESCRIPTION" \ --dns-name=DOMAIN_NAME \
Replace the following:
CLOUD_DNS_ZONE_NAME
: a name for your zoneDESCRIPTION
: a description for your zoneDOMAIN_NAME
: the DNS domain name for your zone, such asexample.com
Use the same domain name that you used in the previous commands, which is the domain name that you are registering.
To register the domain, use the
gcloud domains registrations register
command:gcloud domains registrations register DOMAIN_NAME
Replace
DOMAIN_NAME
with the domain name that you want to register, such asexample.app
.Your output looks similar to the following when you register the domain
example.com
by using name servers provided by Cloud DNS:Yearly price: 12.00 USD Do you agree to pay this yearly price for your domain (y/N)? y You can provide your DNS settings by specifying name servers or a Cloud DNS Managed Zone name [1] Provide name servers list [2] Provide Cloud DNS managed zone name Please enter your numeric choice (2): NAME_SERVER_CHOICE Cloud DNS Managed Zone name: CLOUD_DNS_ZONE Cloud DNS Zone 'CLOUD_DNS_ZONE' is not signed. DNSSEC won't be enabled. Contact data not provided using the --contact-data-from-file flag. Do you want to enter it interactively (Y/n)? y Full name: NAME Organization (if applicable): ORGANIZATION Email: EMAIL_ADDRESS Enter phone number with country code, e.g. "+1.8005550123". Phone number: PHONE_NUMBER Enter fax number with country code, e.g. "+1.8005550123". Fax number (if applicable): FAX_NUMBER Enter two-letter Country / Region code, e.g. "US" or "PL". Refer to the guidelines for entering address field information at https://support.google.com/business/answer/6397478. Country / Region code: COUNTRY_CODE Postal / ZIP code: ZIP_CODE State / Administrative area (if applicable): STATE City / Locality: CITY Address Line 1: ADDRESS_LINE_1 Address Line 2 (if applicable): ADDRESS_LINE_2 Address Line 3 (if applicable): Specify contact privacy [1] private-contact-data [2] public-contact-data Please enter your numeric choice (1): DATA_PRIVACY_CHOICE Waiting for 'operation-1597880129306-5ad437580410d-2c65d582-0861c5b7' to complete...done. Created registration [example.com] Note: The domain is not yet registered. Wait until the registration resource changes state to ACTIVE.
Replace the following:
NAME_SERVER_CHOICE
: choose the name server option based on your DNS provider choiceCLOUD_DNS_ZONE
: the Cloud DNS managed zone nameNAME
: your full name—for example,Alice Smith
ORGANIZATION
: (optional) your organization—for example,Doe Corp
EMAIL_ADDRESS
: your email address for verification—for example,[email protected]
PHONE_NUMBER
: the phone number of the contact in international format—for example,+1-800-555-0123
FAX_NUMBER
: (optional) the phone number of the contact in international format—for example,+1-800-555-0123
COUNTRY_CODE
: the country or region code of the address—for example,US
for United StatesZIP_CODE
: the postal code or ZIP code of the address—for example,94043
STATE
: the state or administrative area of the address—for example,CA
CITY
: the city or locality of the address—for example,Mountain View
ADDRESS_LINE_1
: the first address line of the registrant—for example,1599 Bayview Parkway
You can have up to 5 address lines, but only the first one is required.
ADDRESS_LINE_2
: (optional) the second address line of the registrant—for example,APT. 123
You must enter the address accurately because it is used for domain recovery in case you lose access to your registration. For details, see the guidelines for entering address field information.
DATA_PRIVACY_CHOICE
: your data privacy choiceFor detailed information about privacy options, see Privacy protection.
API
To search for an available domain name, use the
registrations.searchDomains
method with an empty request body:GET https://domains.googleapis.com/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/global/registrations:searchDomains?query=SEARCH_TERM
Replace the following:
PROJECT_ID
: the ID of the project where the domain registration is createdSEARCH_TERM
: any non-empty string to search for a domain name, such asexample
This search returns suggestions for possible domain names that you can register.
To check up-to-date availability for a domain name and get the parameters needed to register a new domain, including price, availability, supported privacy modes, and notices, use the
registrations.retrieveRegisterParameters
method with an empty body:GET https://domains.googleapis.com/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/global/registrations:retrieveRegisterParameters?domainName=DOMAIN_NAME
Replace the following:
PROJECT_ID
: the ID of the project where the managed zone is createdDOMAIN_NAME
: the domain name that you want to check availability for, such asexample.app
The resulting response contains the
yearlyPrice
for the domain, which you need to use in theregistrations.register
API call.You can choose a DNS provider for your name servers based on the DNS provider options explained in the overview. If you choose Cloud DNS as your DNS provider, you must first create a managed public zone for your domain.
To create a managed public zone, use the
managedZones.create
method:POST https://dns.googleapis.com/dns/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/managedZones { "name": "ZONE_NAME", "description": "DESCRIPTION", "dnsName": "DOMAIN_NAME.", "visibility": "public" }
Replace the following:
PROJECT_ID
: the ID of the project where the managed zone is createdZONE_NAME
: a name for your zoneDESCRIPTION
: a description for your zoneDOMAIN_NAME.
: the DNS suffix for your zone, such asexample.com
The resulting response contains a
nameServers
list that you must use in theregistrations.register
API call.To register the domain, use the
registrations.register
method:POST https://domains.googleapis.com/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/global/registrations:register { "registration": { "domainName": "DOMAIN_NAME", "dnsSettings": { "customDns": { "nameServers": [ "NAME_SERVERS" ] } }, "contactSettings": { "privacy": "CONTACT_PRIVACY", "registrantContact": { "postalAddress": { "regionCode": "REGION_CODE", "postalCode": "POSTAL_CODE", "administrativeArea": "SUBDIVISION", "locality": "CITY", "addressLines": [ "ADDRESS" ], "recipients": [ "CONTACT_NAME" ], "organization": "ORGANIZATION" }, "email": "EMAIL_ADDRESS", "phoneNumber": "PHONE_NUMBER", "faxNumber": "FAX_NUMBER" }, "adminContact": { "postalAddress": { "regionCode": "REGION_CODE", "postalCode": "POSTAL_CODE", "administrativeArea": "SUBDIVISION", "locality": "CITY", "addressLines": [ "ADDRESS" ], "recipients": [ "CONTACT_NAME" ], "organization": "ORGANIZATION" }, "email": "EMAIL_ADDRESS", "phoneNumber": "PHONE_NUMBER", "faxNumber": "FAX_NUMBER" }, "technicalContact": { "postalAddress": { "regionCode": "REGION_CODE", "postalCode": "POSTAL_CODE", "administrativeArea": "SUBDIVISION", "locality": "CITY", "addressLines": [ "ADDRESS" ], "recipients": [ "CONTACT_NAME" ], "organization": "ORGANIZATION" }, "email": "EMAIL_ADDRESS", "phoneNumber": "PHONE_NUMBER", "faxNumber": "FAX_NUMBER" } } }, "yearlyPrice": { "currencyCode": "CURRENCY_CODE", "units": NUMBER_OF_UNITS } }
Replace the following:
PROJECT_ID
: the ID of the project where you created the registration resourceDOMAIN_NAME
: the domain name that you want to register, such asexample.com
NAME_SERVERS
: the name servers that you want to useIf you are using Cloud DNS, use the
nameServers
field output that you got from themanagedZones.create.post
API call.CONTACT_PRIVACY
: the preferred privacy setting for the contact dataFor detailed information about the available privacy options, see the
ContactPrivacy
resource in the Cloud Domains API.
Replace the following values for
registrantContact
,adminContact
, andtechnicalContact
. For detailed information about each type of contact, see Contact information.REGION_CODE
: the region code of the address—for example,US
for United StatesPOSTAL_CODE
: the postal code of the address—for example,94043
SUBDIVISION
: the highest administrative subdivision of an address, such as a state, a province, an oblast, or a prefecture—for example,CA
for the state of CaliforniaCITY
: the name of the city or town of the address—for example,Mountain View
ADDRESS
: the lower levels of an address—for example,1599 Amphitheater Parkway
CONTACT_NAME
: the name of the contactORGANIZATION
: (optional) the name of the organization that is registering the domain—for example,Doe Corporation
EMAIL_ADDRESS
: the email address of the contact—for example,[email protected]
PHONE_NUMBER
: the phone number of the contact in international format—for example,+1-800-555-0123
FAX_NUMBER
: (optional) the fax number of the contact in international format—for example,+1-800-555-0123
You must enter the address accurately because it is used for domain recovery in case you lose access to your registration. For details, see the guidelines for entering address field information.
Replace the following values for the yearly price of the domain. This is the amount obtained from the
yearlyPrice
field in theregistrations.retrieveRegisterParameters
API call:CURRENCY_CODE
: the three-letter currency code as defined in ISO 4217—for example,USD
NUMBER_OF_UNITS
: the whole units of the amount—for example, ifcurrencyCode
isUSD
, then one unit is one US dollar
After the registration resource is created, it is in the state
REGISTRATION_PENDING
. It should transition to the state ACTIVE
in a few
minutes. This means that the registration process is successful and the domain
is ready to use.
To resolve any issues that arise, see the Troubleshooting section During registration, a registration resource seems to be stuck in state REGISTRATION_PENDING. See also List registered domains.
If you receive an error message during the registration process, see Errors during domain registration.
Verify your contact information
After you register your domain, Cloud Domains sends a verification email to the address that you provided in your contact information for the domain. This email includes a subject line that states Action required: Please verify your email address or [Action Required] Verify your Squarespace domain contact.
You must verify your contact information within 15 days or your domain becomes inactive.
To verify your email address, complete the following steps:
- Open the verification email from [email protected].
- Click Verify email now.
After Cloud Domains verifies your contact information, a confirmation message is displayed that indicates that your email address is verified.
If there is an error in verifying your contact information, see the Troubleshooting section Registrant email verification issues.
What's next
- To get an overview of Cloud Domains, see the Cloud Domains overview.
- To make changes to your registration settings, see Edit registration settings for a domain.
- To access API information, see the Cloud Domains API.
- To find solutions for common issues that you might encounter when using Cloud Domains, see Troubleshooting.
- To learn about Cloud DNS, see the Cloud DNS overview.