How to make a register

Learn how to create a register form with CSS.

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How To Create a Register Form

Step 1) Add HTML:

Step 2) Add CSS:

Example

/* Add padding to containers */
.container <
padding: 16px;
>

/* Full-width input fields */
input[type=text], input[type=password] <
width: 100%;
padding: 15px;
margin: 5px 0 22px 0;
display: inline-block;
border: none;
background: #f1f1f1;
>

input[type=text]:focus, input[type=password]:focus <
background-color: #ddd;
outline: none;
>

/* Overwrite default styles of hr */
hr <
border: 1px solid #f1f1f1;
margin-bottom: 25px;
>

/* Set a style for the submit/register button */
.registerbtn <
background-color: #04AA6D;
color: white;
padding: 16px 20px;
margin: 8px 0;
border: none;
cursor: pointer;
width: 100%;
opacity: 0.9;
>

/* Add a blue text color to links */
a <
color: dodgerblue;
>

/* Set a grey background color and center the text of the «sign in» section */
.signin <
background-color: #f1f1f1;
text-align: center;
>

Tip: Go to our HTML Form Tutorial to learn more about HTML Forms.

Tip: Go to our CSS Form Tutorial to learn more about how to style form elements.

How to Register a Domain Name

+ Ways to Get it for Free

Last updated: Dec 18, 2020

Editor in Chief

Are you looking to register a domain name, but don’t know where to start?

Part of creating a website is buying a domain name that has to be unique.

In this step-by-step guideline, we’re going to show you several options on how to register a domain name and also cover some commonly asked questions that might pop up in your mind while registering a domain.

Ready? Let’s first start by explaining why is it crucial to choose a good domain name.

Why a Good Domain Name is Important?

A domain name is your unique identifier among billions of other websites on the web. That’s why having a memorable and easy-to-type name is essential for having an online presence.

Your domain name serves as an extension of your personal or business name. In that sense it:

Also, choosing a good domain name is important for SEO. Several years ago exact match domains (EMDs) were all the rage, but today most people choose brandable domain names.

Memorable domain names get typed to Google more frequently. Algorithms keep track of that and assign more authority to your website. As the branded search volume grows, your domain name earns extra authority points, so that it gets easier to rank for related keywords.

With that being said, let’s move on to the how-to part.

How to Register a Domain Name: 4 Options

To get a domain name, you’ll need to ‘call dibs’ with ICANN. ICANN is a global non-profit authority that maintains records on which domain and IP address belongs to whom and manages access to them.

But ICANN doesn’t provide registration services, it only maintains records. That’s where domain name registrars come into play.

The primary role of a register is to:

Technically speaking, you are not buying a domain name from a registrar company, but reserve its usage for a specified time. You can pay to reserve a domain for 1-10 years at a time, depending on the registrar. After your initial subscription expires, you’ll need to renew it and pay a fee again. You can re-purchase your domain name over and over again.

When registering a domain name, you sign a long-term lease of your domain (without the ability to buy it out for good). You can read more about the domain costs here.

In practice, all of the above is much simpler than you think as we will show below.

1. How to Get a Domain Name from Domain.com

Domain.com is a reputable domain registrar, launched in 1998. Over 1.2 million websites are registered with them.

For that price you get:

Sounds sweet? Here’s how to register a domain name on Domain.com.

Step 1: Run a quick search to verify that the domain name you are eying is available.

Your choice gets automatically added to your cart with a 2-year privacy protection subscription. This one’s optional, so you can remove it during the next step. Also, you can change your domain renewal period from one year to five years.

Moreover, you can pick some add-on services such as:

Step 3: Provide your billing and payment information once you are done with your selections. Add a coupon code “WEBSITESETUP25” to get 25% off of the first payment, review your choice(s), and proceed with checkout.

Use this coupon code when registering to get 25% OFF – “WEBSITESETUP25“

Note: Re-check your domain spelling before hitting “Purchase Now”. Domain.com doesn’t let you change your domain name post-purchase if you misspelled it.

2. How to Register a Domain on GoDaddy.com

GoDaddy is also known as a web hosting provider, but you can also buy a domain name from them.

Step 1: Look up a new domain name first. If you haven’t come up with a good name yet or are assessing different options, GoDaddy has a nice set of extra features to help you out.

You can use the Bulk Domain search to check a bunch of domain ideas for eligibility in a click. Or you can play around with their free domain name generator to get some alternative suggestions if your primary choice is already taken:

Also, if you are feeling very determined to get your desired domain for branding purposes, GoDaddy can try to broker a deal for you with the owner. But remember, the original owner may name any price they deem appropriate so in that case, you’ll be paying:

If you are running a small business, going into a heated negotiation with some cyber squatters may not be the best investment of your time and budgets.

Step 2: Once you’ve made your pick, grab all the TLDs you want to your basket and then select your renewals period (1 to 10 years).

GoDaddy regularly runs different promos, so it’s easy to get a really affordable domain with them. Also, the annual rate includes:

Step 3: Once you’ve finished filling your cart with domains, click proceed to checkout. At the next screen, you’ll be given an option to pick some extra handy features such as:

Step 4: Continue to your cart and carefully review your purchase summary. Pay attention to the fact that GoDaddy charges a lower rate for 1-year domains. But the price may go up if you sign up for 2+years.

Again, you’d be pitched several upsells in case you change your mind.

Step 5: Create an accounting or sign in using your Facebook or Google Account.

Step 6: Provide your billing information. Then add a valid payment method (remember: you’ll be auto-billed each year, so your card shouldn’t be too close to expiring). Review all the details one last time and click ‘purchase’ to get your new domain name(s) registered.

3. How to Get a Domain Name From Namecheap.com

Namecheap is another popular website for buying domain names and getting website hosting. As their domain name prompts, they often have a lot of good deals and somewhat lower annular prices than GoDaddy, for example.

So if you love a good bargain, here’s how to buy a domain name via Namecheap.

Also, if your name isn’t available or you’d like to get some more ideas, switch to their advanced search view aka the Beast Mode:

As you can see from above, you have a lot more features to play with such as price range, suffix/prefix, and so on. This can help you drill down to that perfect domain name that is short, memorable, available, and yet cheap!

Step 2: After you’ve chosen the best contenders, proceed to your cart to start the checkout process. At this point, you can also add some extras and customize your order:

On top of that, you can select some affordable up-sells such as:

Also, you can play around with your renewal. Namecheap provides a small discount for 2+ years.

Step 3: To confirm your order you’ll need to create an account with Namecheap. However, they don’t offer an option to log in with Google or Facebook, so you’ll need to provide an email address.

Step 4: After login, you’ll need to provide your billing details, add a payment method, and proceed with the purchase.

4. How to Register a Domain Name For Free (Using Bluehost)

You’ve heard the rumor about free domain names. Is it true?

Yes! There are actually ways to get a free domain name for your website.

First, you can get a free domain name for a web hosting provider such as Bluehost.

They offer every new user a 1-year free domain with any of their hosting plans. You can either register a brand new domain name with them or transfer a domain name, registered with another company.

Some other hosting providers who also have a 1-year ‘free domain’ policy:

Note: The downside of getting a domain name from a hosting provider is more expensive renewals. After a free year, most hosting providers will charge a higher renewal fee, compared to domain registrars.

Domain Registration FAQs

Here are some commonly asked questions.

1. What are Domain Name Extensions?

Domain name extensions help categorize different domain names. It’s a special hierarchy, invented for the Internet.

You can choose among popular top-level domain extensions (TLDs) such as:

Or go with a local domain extension such as if you want to focus on building a presence in a specific country:

Also, there’s a bunch of creative domain extensions, launched recently. You can try playing around with them to create a shorter, brandable name. For example:

2. How to Buy a Website Domain for Ever?

As we explained, domain names are not for complete sale. Essentially, you are reserving domain name usage for a set period (10-years max at a time). But you can keep renewing your domain name as many times as you want to.

While you cannot buy it out for good from a registrar, you can hold on to your domain name for as long as you are paying your renewal fee.

3. What Happens If I Don’t Renew My Domain Name?

If you didn’t set auto-renewal or forgot to manually do so despite the reminders from your domain registrar, your domain name will expire. This means several things:

In essence, failure to pay a renewal fee means lost access to your domain.

4. Can I Transfer My Domain Name?

Yes, most domain registrars can also facilitate the process of transferring a domain name from one person to another (if certain conditions are met). For example, if you want to buy a premium domain name from someone, a registrar can help process the deal securely.

Also, you can transfer your domain name between different registrars if you found a better deal, for example, or just need some extra features.

Below are linked help documents for doing that with each registrar:

5. How to Find Out Who Owns a Domain Name?

When you register a domain name, the ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) requires you to provide personal contact information that will be stored in the WHOIS database.

Basically, as soon as the domain name is in the database, the record is publicly available to anyone who uses the WHOIS search tool.

There are loads of WHOIS tools available on the Internet, but you can try out, for example, the ICANN Lookup tool.

To Conclude: How to Register a Domain Name

Congratulations! If you followed through with our step-by-step guide, you should now know how to register a domain name.

What you need is come up with (or research on the platform) a sound word combo, decide on your domain extension, pick some handful add-ons, and pay for your subscription. Afterward, the registrar will provide you with further quick instructions for connecting your domain name to your website, so that you can finally become visible on the web.

How to Create a WordPress User Registration Form

Do you want to learn how to create a WordPress user registration form?

User registration forms make lives easier for websites that want to give their users the option to sign up.

In this post, we’ll show you the easiest way to create a user registration form in WordPress so new users can register on your site from the frontend within a few minutes.

Why Create a User Registration Form in WordPress?

There are various benefits to creating a user registration form on your website to accept new users:

Ready to let your users register in WordPress and simplify user management? Here’s how.

How to Create a WordPress User Registration Form

In This Article

Step 1: Install WPForms

WPForms is the best WordPress contact form builder. The free version allows you to create simple contact forms, but WPForms Pro comes with premium addons that enable more complex functionalities like user registration.

The best thing is that you don’t need to know HTML, PHP, or CSS to build your own WordPress registration form with WPForms. It’s a simple drag and drop form builder that anybody can use.

To get started, the first thing you’ll need is to install and activate the WPForms plugin. It’s very simple for beginners to install this form plugin.

Make sure to purchase the WPForms Pro plan because this includes the User Registration addon that we’ll be using to create registration forms.

Step 2: Activate the User Registration Addon

When you’ve installed WPForms on your site, the next step is to install and activate the User Registration addon.

To get this addon, head over to WPForms » Addons from your WordPress admin area.

This will open the WPForms Addons page. You can scroll through the list of addons or just type in “user registration” in the search field to find the User Registration addon.

Click on Install Addon to begin the installation.

The status under the User Registration addon will now read Active.

Great job! Now that the User Registration addon is ready, we can start creating WordPress user registration forms using WPForms.

Step 3: Start Creating WordPress User Regisration Form

To create a new registration form, click on WPForms » Add New. You’ll now see the form setup screen where you can name your form and select a template.

In this example, we’ll create the registration form from scratch, which is really easy. But if you want to do this even quicker, you can also make a user registration form from a template.

Now, click on the Create Blank Form.

You should now see the form builder screen. At this point, the form will be empty since we chose to create a new form using the Blank Form option.

WPForms is extremely customizable and includes lots of custom fields that you can add if needed. We’ll take advantage of its various registration features in the next steps.

Step 4: Add and Customize User Registration Form Fields

We’ll create a really simple registration form, adding only the most important fields to it to collect user information. This is to keep the registration process short and sweet.

Longer forms have a much greater chance of being abandoned by users, but you can still capture leads using WPForms’ Form Abandonment addon.

Now, let’s add some fields using the simple drag and drop form builder. All you need to do is select a field from the left-hand pane and drag and drop it onto your form on the right.

Repeat this process until you’ve added all the desired fields. For our form, we added the following fields:

You can easily customize options for your form fields. For instance, we changed the name of Single Line Text field to read Username, set a maximum character limit, and added an input mask to control allowed characters for the username.

To customize any field, click on the field to open the Field Options. Under the General tab within Field Options, you can change the label of the field, add a description, and choose whether you want the field to be a required one.

Normally, usernames only contain alphanumeric characters and no special characters. You can enforce this requirement so that the Username field only accepts letters or alphabets.

To do this, click on the Advanced tab under Field Options for the Username field. Then, scroll down to find the Input Mask option.

WPForms uses formulas to create Input Mask rules. In our example, we wanted to create a Username field that accepts numbers, uppercase letters and lowercase letters, and a character length between 4 to 15.

To define these WordPress username rules, the formula for the custom input mask is: ****[* <0,11>]

For more information about input masks, see our doc guide on using custom input masks in WPForms. You can set down your own WordPress username rules using custom input masks.

Similarly, we customized the Password field in the Field Options to enable the Password Confirmation and Password Strength options.

These options are exceptionally handy if you’d like to make sure your users sign up with strong credentials and prevent the risk of hacking. The interactive password strength meter also helps enhance the user experience.

WPForms also adds an extra layer of security by using anti-spam techniques to prevent brute force attacks and spambots. You can even connect WPForms with Google reCAPTCHA as explained in this guide on stopping WordPress form spam.

Also, you might want to change the label of the Submit button on the bottom of the form so that it reads Register instead.

To do this, click on the Setting button on the menu on the left and then click General. From here, simply edit the text under the Submit Button Text field.

Once you’re done customizing your form, click Save.

Step 5: Configure WordPress User Registration Form Settings

In this step, we’ll map our form fields to the WordPress user profile and assign a user role to new users.

To start, click on Settings » User Registration.

Now, click on the button next to Enable User Registration to enable it.

On this page, you can do the following:

For field mapping, simply use the dropdowns to select a field from your form that corresponds to the user profile field.

Scroll down to the User Roles section to assign one of your WordPress site’s predefined user roles to new users.

In the next step, we’ll configure the user activation method.

Step 6: Configure User Activation Method

If you scroll down from the User Roles section, you should see User Activation & Logins section. We recommend toggling on the Enable User Activation button if you want to prevent spam signups and control user activations.

WPForms gives you two user activation methods:

The User Email method is more convenient if there are lots of people signing up to your site every day. Plus, it will help prevent spam user registrations and require all new users to complete their registration using a special link sent to their provided email address.

You can customize the email subject, message, and select a User Activation Confirmation Page to display when a user clicks the activation URL in their email.

Note: Make sure you’ve already created the page confirmation page on your WordPress site so that you can select it in the User Activation Confirmation Page dropdown.

If you select the Manual Approval method, site admins will need to approve each user on the backend to confirm registration. This can be time-consuming.

Once you’re done configuring the user registration settings, click Save to store your changes.

Step 7: Change the New User Registration Notifications Settings in WordPress

Scrolling down further from the settings in the above section, you should now find the Email Notifications section. This gives you the ability to change the new user registration notifications. The available options include:

If you want to edit the header and content of these emails, you can do so by simply clicking on the Edit Template button next to each notification type.

Step 8: Edit On Page Registration Form Confirmation

Apart from the notification emails, WPForms also displays a confirmation message to the user when they submit the form.

WPForms has three confirmation types to choose from:

You can customize confirmations by clicking on Settings » Confirmations. In this example, we used the default Confirmation Type (Message), but we edited the message to include instructions for the user.

If you want to automatically log new users into their newly created WordPress account, rather than show them a thank you message after registering on your website, check out this article on how to set up WordPress registration redirects.

Don’t forget to Save your changes. Next, we’ll embed and publish the form on your site.

Step 9: Configure User Registration Marketing and Payments (Optional)

You can combine your site’s user registration forms with our email marketing addons like Mailchimp, AWeber, Campaign Monitor, MailerLite, and GetResponse.

This allows you to automatically add all registered users to your email marketing list. You can even add them into various marketing automation sequences from there.

For instance, you can add a checkbox field that lets users signup for your newsletter while registering. With WPForm’s marketing integrations, you can then send new signups to your mailing list automatically.

In addition, you can configure your user registration forms to accept payments using our payment addons for Stripe, Authorize.Net, PayPal, and Square. This is perfect if you want to run a membership or WooCommerce site to accept payments while a user is registering for your site.

To configure the payments settings on your user registration form, you’ll first have to install and activate the right payment addon.

For easy step-by-step instructions, check the following tutorials:

Step 10: Add the User Registration Form to Your Site

After you’ve created your WordPress user form user registration and login form, you need to add it to your WordPress website.

You can embed the form using a shortcode, but WPForms has an even more user-friendly embed tool.

Click on the Embed button on the top-right of the form builder screen.

Now, select Create New Page.

Give your new page a name and then click Let’s Go.

WPForms will now take you to your WordPress editor with your new registration form already embedded within. When you’re ready, click on Publish. With WPForms, this is all you need to do to add a registration page to your WordPress site.

You might want to redirect your default WordPress registration URL to your new custom login page. The default WordPress login page is too plain and it doesn’t match your site’s WordPress theme, so it can feel out of place to use the standard login page in WordPress. See our article on how to add login and registration redirects in WordPress for details.

Now, users can register on your site using your custom registration form. Once they register, you can then change their roles or other settings from the default WordPress profile page for each user.

Step 11: Add Your Registration Page to Your Website’s Menu

After you publish your new user registration form, it will be ready to use. However, visitors have to be able to find it if they want to sign up.

The easiest way to make your registration page accessible is to add it to the main menu of your WordPress site. You can do this by going to Appearance » Menus and choosing your new registration page from the options listed on the left.

Depending on which WordPress theme you have, you might also need to remove your old registration page from your site’s menu. Don’t forget to save your changes.

If you need help with this, we recommend checking out this WordPress menu tutorial.

And that’s it! You now know how to make a WordPress registration form to enable an easy signup process for new users on your site.

Next, Run a Successful Giveaway

Now that you’re getting new registered users on your site, it might be a good idea to further increase your followers by running an Instagram giveaway. Check out these tips for running an Instagram giveaway, to launch a successful one.

Also, did you know that you can let users preview their form entry before submitting it? See our article on how to preview a form entry before submitting it for more details.

So, what are you waiting for? Get started with the most powerful WordPress drag and drop form builder and WordPress user registration plugin today. The Pro version of WPForms has a pre-built user registration form template. And you get powerful features like conditional logic and form abandonment too.

And don’t forget, if you like this article, then please follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Using WordPress and want to get WPForms for free?

Enter the URL to your WordPress website to install.

Comments

I want to create a User Registration Form but it’s going to be 2 different forms also I want to be able to add a signature/date on the form

and space /director of sport on the form then enable a pdf download.is it possible??

Hey Falana- you can make use of the User Registration addon and Signature addon – These addons are availble with Pro and higher license levels only.

However, we do not have the ability to generate a PDF automatically for submitted entries. I do agree it would be super helpful, though. I’ve made a note of the feature request and we’ll keep it on our radar as we plan out our roadmap for the future.

In the meantime, there are a couple of options you could consider, depending on your particular goals:

1) You could set up form notification emails to send an email with the content of the submitted entry. Most browsers will then let you save an email as a PDF (here’s an example for Chrome). In case it helps, here’s our tutorial on setting up notification emails.

2) You could manually create PDFs of each entry. Here’s our tutorial with all the details.

Hope this helps 🙂

Is it possible for each subscriber get assigned membership ID using your solution.?

Hey Adeniyi – The User Registration addon does not provide an interface to manage or edit existing users and focuses solely on the account creation process.

I would recommend you consider looking at full blown membership/profile solutions. Specifically, check out Ultimate Member or MemberPress, both of which we’ve seen lots of users have good luck with.

Please know that plugins like these are going to give you all the “bells and whistles” for your users, as well as more robust membership/user management tools for you.

I hope this helps!

Is it possible to have users assigned to a specific membership group using a hidden field?

Hey Jules – The User Registration addon does not provide an interface to manage or edit existing users and focuses solely on the account creation process.

I would recommend you consider looking at full blown membership/profile solutions. Specifically, check out Ultimate Member or MemberPress, both of which we’ve seen lots of users have good luck with.

Please know that plugins like these are going to give you all the “bells and whistles” for your users, as well as more robust membership/user management tools for you.

12 Ways to Create a User-Friendly Website Registration Process

Written by Corey Wainwright

Free Workbook: How to Plan a Successful Website Redesign

As a user, registering for websites is no fun.

But it’s part of doing business in the online world, and because most website visitors are quite used to the process, they’ve also come to have pet peeves over UX and UI choices businesses make around their registration process.

Even more startling, eMarketer reports that 88% of people have intentionally left website registration information blank or inserted false information. Whether it’s due to privacy concerns or frustration, online shoppers have higher standards than ever before for a sleek and simple registration process. If online registration is something your business can’t live without, let’s examine the ways to make it the least annoying process possible for your site visitors.

12 Ways to Create a Seamless Website Registration Process for Your Visitors

2.) Eliminate as many fields as possible. Just as with landing pages, the fewer form fields you can get away with in your registration process, the less likely you’ll suffer mid-form abandonment. Consider what information you absolutely must gather. And if you’re asking for information that isn’t required to help with your lead nurturing, make sure those fields are clearly marked as optional so users know they don’t need to divulge that information.

People have become used to delivering their personal information in a certain order, and it’s based on the most logical flow, generally something like: name, phone number, email address, billing/shipping address with a check box if they’re the same, and credit card information.

4.) Break up long registration processes into steps. For many ecommerce sites, the registration process is combined with the checkout process, which means a bigger time investment and more opportunities for users to get frustrated. Break up the process into clearly labeled steps, like ModCloth, for example.

5.) Make your security and privacy policies clear as day. Privacy and security is a hot button issue, so reassure your visitors that their information is safe with you. Include a clear link to your privacy policy and visual indications of your site’s security with verification badges from third parties like VeriSign, the BBB, and TRUSTe, like Zappos has done on its registration page.

Also, if you’re asking a user to confirm their password by typing it in again, don’t wait until the entire form is filled out to ensure they’ve typed it in correctly both times; let them know right away before moving on to another form field that their passwords do not match.

7.) Make password recovery easy. Ever go to what you thought was a brand new site, only to find out you’ve apparently not only been there before, but actually registered with them? If you’ve tried to register again with the same email address, you know it’s quite impossible to get to the next step unless you somehow remember the password you selected. A Janrain study reveals that 45% of consumers will leave a website after forgetting their password or log-in information. I’ve definitely been in that camp when a password reset option isn’t clear and simple. Unless your user can complete their end goal without registering for your website, make it easy as pie for them to reset their password so they don’t abandon your site.

8.) Give the option to refresh Captcha. If your site requires that registrants authenticate that they are indeed living, breathing human beings with a Captcha form, give them the option to refresh the results that are delivered.

If you’ve ever been on the receiving end of an unintelligible Captcha, you know how welcoming it is to not have to struggle through an attempt to parse those wobbly, stretched, and warped letters when there’s likely a clearer option next in line.

9.) Clearly identify and explain form field errors. Whether due to fumbling fingers or misinterpretation of what a field required, users will make mistakes when filling out registration forms on your site. If a field isn’t completed correctly, don’t just tell them they made a mistake. Show them in which field the error occurred, and explain the correct way to fill out the field. Do it in bright colors so it stands out and they don’t have to re-read every form field they entered, scanning for mistakes. Some sites even scroll automatically to the offending field, making corrections even easier!

10.) Consider offering social sign-in. Social sign-in, also known as social authentication, lets visitors sign in to your site using a social network like Facebook or Twitter, or even an Apple ID or Google account. According to Marketing Pilgrim, 77% of online buyers said they think sites should offer social signup. Not only does this let visitors register for your site quicker, but it also helps you gather more valid data about your registrants.

11.) Provide a guest checkout option. Not everyone should have to complete the full registration process; provide the option to complete a purchase without registering. Yes, I know, it’s more convenient to register now if they’re going to return at a later date to check order history, shipping information, or account information. But maybe they’re in a rush. Or maybe they intend to be a one time customer. Ultimately, wouldn’t you rather see a transaction completed than collect more robust lead information?

When selecting a registration or shopping cart system, ask if these types of functionality are available to ensure you can create the best user experience possible. And if you’re an ecommerce site, you can even utilize HubSpot’s Ecommerce Integration to help you get full closed-loop reporting and lead nurturing benefits. And as you make improvements to your registration process, be sure to approach it with a scientific methodology. See what changes are helping improve your conversion rate and prevent form abandonment, and throw out the changes that add no value to the registration process, or worse, harm it.

How To Register A Business Name

To register a business name, you’ll need to register your business with the state. You can form an LLC or corporation, or file for a “doing business as” name with your state’s business division.

Our How to Register a Business Name guide will walk you through each step of the process.

Register a Business Name

Visit our state-specific register a business name guides to learn how to register a business name:

Recommended: If you don’t have a business name in mind or if yours is taken, check out our How to Name a Business guide or our free Business Name Generator tool. Then, create a logo with our free Logo Maker.

Step 1: Make Sure The Business Name is Unique and Available

The first step in registering a new business name is to make sure it’s unique, meaning that no one else in your state has formed a company with, or reserved, that name. You can do this by searching the following things:

Business Name Search

The first search you will need to perform is a business entity name search, which is typically on your State’s Secretary of State website. This is the most important step in the process because if you try to file for a name that is already taken, your filing will be denied.

Search requirements can vary depending on your business needs. For example, a unique and available name is required for:

In some states, a state-level name search is not required for informal business structures like sole proprietorships or general partnerships. Choose your state from the dropdown above to see its rules.

Domain Name Search

We recommend that you check to see if your business name is available as a web domain (URL) too. Even if you don’t plan to make a business website today, you may want to buy the web address to prevent others from acquiring it. It’s free to search.

Find a Domain Now

Federal Trademark Search

Next, a quick search on the U.S. Trademark Electronic Search System will tell you whether someone else has already trademarked your name. Once you know the name is available, you can choose to apply for a trademark for your business, although the cost is sometimes too high for a startup or fledgling business.

Regardless of whether you will be registering a trademark, it’s good to know if your name is already taken.

To learn more about trademarks and the steps you will need to get one, read our How to Trademark Your Business Name guide.

Search the Web

Finally, when doing your research, it’s a good idea to check and see what else comes up when you search your prospective business name online on sites like Google, Bing, Yahoo, Yelp, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and more. Doing this will show you who else will show up on these platforms, whether they have a large online presence, and how tough they may be to compete with while you’re building your brand.

It’s also smart to see if anyone else in your industry already has a similar name to the one you want to use. You can do this by looking up some search terms related to your industry and brand. You may decide on a different business name to make yourself stand out.

Step 2: Determine Your Business Entity Naming Needs

Now that you know how to find a unique name, you’ll need to know what to do with one. This will be different based on your chosen business entity.

If you haven’t already chosen one, choosing the best business structure for your new venture is an important step because different business structures have different benefits, disadvantages, and naming rules.

Business structures can be formal or informal and are the way that your business is set up, operated, and taxed. We cover all the following naming needs for the following business structures:

Limited Liability Companies (LLCs)

An LLC, or Limited Liability Company, is the simplest way of structuring your business to protect your personal assets in case your business is sued. LLCs require unique names that must follow certain naming requirements, here are a few common ones:

Choose your state from the dropdown above to see a full list its LLC naming rules.

Common LLC Naming Scenarios:

What you will need to do with your LLC’s name depends on if you are already in business or are forming a new LLC. For step-by-step instructions of common LLC naming scenarios, skip ahead to:

Corporations

A corporation is a separate legal entity from its owners with a basic operational structure consisting of shareholders, officers, directors, and employees. A C corp business structure will protect your personal assets. Corporations require a unique name and must meet certain naming requirements, here are a few common requirements:

Choose your state from the dropdown above to see a full list its corporation naming rules.

Common Corporation Naming Scenarios

What you will need to do with your corporation’s name depends on if you are already in business, or are forming just forming the business. For step-by-step instructions of common corporation naming scenarios, skip ahead to:

Sole Proprietorships

This business structure must operate under the surname of the owner. To use a different name, the business owner must file for a DBA (Doing Business As).

Choose your state from the dropdown above to see a full list its sole proprietorship rules.

General Partnerships

General partnerships are similar to sole proprietorships. The difference is that a partnership consists of two or more people. A general partnership is an informal business structure that doesn’t provide personal asset protection.

General partnerships must include the surnames of the partners. To use a different name, business owners must file for a DBA (Doing Business As), known as an assumed name.

Choose your state from the dropdown above to see a full list its rules for partnerships.

Step 3: Register the Business Name

Now that you know your business name is unique, and what you want to do, here’s how to get the following actions done:

Choose your state from the dropdown above to see the state-specific things you will need to do to register your business name.

Name Reservation

A name reservation is not required to be filed, in most states, to open a new company or file for a DBA.

However, there are benefits to filing a name reservation, like if you find a unique name for your business, but do not want to form your LLC or Corporation right away.

The procedures to reserve a business name vary state to state.

How to Form an LLC

Registering a business name is part of the LLC filing process: once your LLC is filed in the state, your name is registered. While the name can be reserved beforehand, this is typically not necessary to file for an LLC.

Forming an LLC is easy and only requires five simple steps:

Recommended: Form an LLC using our free step-by-step guide, or have a professional service form your LLC.

How to Form a Corporation

Registering a business name is part of the corporation filing process: once your corporation is filed, your name is registered. While the name can be reserved beforehand, this is not typically necessary to file.

Forming a Corporation is easy, and only requires a few steps:

Recommended: Form a Corporation using Startup Savant’s free step-by-step guide, or have a professional incorporate your business.

How to File a DBA

Filing a DBA (Doing Business As) allows your existing or new business to do business as a name other than your legal business name. This can be helpful for getting a brand name established, or to change the name of a business without having to file an amendment to an original filing.

A DBA can be filed by all business structures covered in this article; however, LLC and corporation filing can sometimes be different than filing for sole proprietorships and general partnerships in some states.

Recommended: Read our guide on How to File a DBA.

Submit an Amendment to the Legal Name of an Existing Business

To change the legal name of your business, you will need to file your state’s Certificate of Amendment, or a similarly named document, along with the correct filing fee for your business entity.

Frequently Asked Questions:

How do you legally name a business?

To legally name a business, you will need to form a company with the desired name, file a DBA, or file an amendment to change its legal name.

How can I make my business name official?

Making a business name official requires forming a company with it, filing a DBA for an existing company, or submitting an amendment to the legal name of an existing business.

See how to do this above in step three of this guide.

What is a business legal name?

A business’s legal name is the official name of a business entity listed on the formation documents submitted and filed with the state. A legal name can be changed by filing an amendment to the business’s formation documents.

A business can choose to operate under other names by filing for a DBA, also known as a trade name, fictitious name, or assumed name. Filing for a DBA does not change a business’s legal name.

What is the first step to starting a business?

The first step in starting a business is to choose the right business idea, followed by planning and forming your business. Learn how to start a business by reading our full, in-depth guide that discusses these subjects and more.

How much does registering a business name cost?

The cost of registering a business name is different depending on your needs and your state’s filing fees for reserving a business name, forming a company, filing a DBA, or filing a legal amendment to your business’s name.

Find your state in the dropdown above for more specific information.

How do you pay for a business name?

Paying for a business name is done when filing paperwork such as name reservations, formation documents, DBA filings, and legal amendments with the Secretary of State or responsible department in the state the business will be formed or exists in.

Does LLC have to be in a business name?

If a business is formed as an LLC, it is required to have some form of «limited liability company» in its legal name. This includes abbreviations such as «LLC,» «llc,» or «l.l.c.”

For more information on your state’s specific naming requirements, find your state in the dropdown above.

What happens if you don’t renew your business name?

The result of not renewing your business name depends on how you registered the business name in the first place. If you reserved your name and didn’t renew the reservation, the name will become available for anyone in that state to use.

If the business is either dissolved willingly or by going out of good standing, the name will also become available to use by others depending on state laws, unless reinstated.

Can I register a business name for free?

No. There are filing fee requirements for reserving a business name, forming a company with one, getting a DBA, and filing an amendment.

These fees vary by state. Find out more by selecting your state in the dropdown above.