Choosing a domain name and email address for your tattoo shop
A domain name is your shop's address on the internet, like yourshop.com. A good one is short, easy to say and clearly yours. Together with an email address on the same domain, it makes your shop look professional and keeps you independent of any platform. This guide helps you choose a domain, move an existing one safely and set up email that matches.
Why your own domain matters
A link to a social media profile or a page on someone else's platform works, until the platform changes its rules, your account gets locked or you want to move. A domain you own stays yours. You can point it to a new website, move to a different provider or change studios, and clients still find you at the same address.
It also builds trust. "yourshop.com" on a business card, a window sticker or an aftercare sheet looks established. And for search engines, all the links and history that build up over the years stay attached to one address. We covered that side in SEO for tattoo shops.
Choosing a domain name
Use your shop name or artist name
The simplest choice is usually the best: your shop name, or your artist name if you work solo. Clients search for the name they know.
Keep it short and easy to say
You will say your domain out loud at the counter and on the phone. Avoid hyphens, unusual spellings and numbers that can be written two ways. Say it to someone and ask them to type it; if they hesitate, simplify.
Add a word if your name is taken
If your exact name isn't available, add a natural word: yourshop-tattoo, yourshoptattoo, yourshopink or the city. Keep the result readable.
Choose the extension
- .com is widely recognised internationally
- A country extension such as .nl, .de or .co.uk tells local clients you're nearby
- Newer extensions such as .tattoo or .ink can be memorable, but test whether people remember them correctly
If you can, register the most important variants and redirect them to your main domain, so typos and variants still arrive in the right place.
Moving an existing domain
Already have a domain with an old website? Don't let it lapse. A domain that expires can be registered by someone else, and the links in Google, on your business cards and on Instagram stop working.
When you move to a new site:
- Keep the same domain if you can
- Set up redirects from the old page addresses to the new ones, so links and rankings carry over
- Update the link in your Google Business Profile and social media bios
On OnlineTattoo.art you can register a new domain or bring the one you have. We connect existing domains, or transfer them if you prefer one bill, set up DNS and SSL, and set up redirects from your old URLs when you move from another website. The first year of the domain is free; after that you pay the normal yearly registration price for the extension, and we tell you the amount before it renews. All details are on the domain and email page.
Make sure the domain is registered in your name
Whoever registers a domain controls it. It happens surprisingly often that a web designer, a former partner or an employee registered the shop's domain in their own name years ago. When they leave, the shop can lose control of its own address. Check who the registered owner of your domain is and who has the login. Keep the details in a safe place, with an e-mail address that belongs to the business. If you move providers, ask for the transfer code in writing. Set a reminder for the renewal date, so the domain never lapses by accident. With OnlineTattoo.art your domain stays yours: if you leave, you can move it elsewhere.
SSL: the padlock
SSL encrypts the connection between your website and visitors. Browsers mark sites without it as "not secure", which scares clients away, especially on a booking or payment page. Every OnlineTattoo.art site gets a certificate automatically.
An email address on your domain
info@yourshop.com looks more professional than a free email address, and it keeps working if you change email provider. It also makes it clear to clients that a message really comes from your shop, which matters for booking confirmations and deposit links.
Some tips:
- Use a general address (info@, hello@ or booking@) for the shop, so it doesn't depend on one person
- Give artists their own address if they handle their own bookings
- Make sure the email settings for your domain are correct (SPF, DKIM and DMARC). That helps your messages land in the inbox instead of spam.
A mailbox on your domain is coming as an add-on on OnlineTattoo.art, for your mail app on phone and computer. You can follow the status on the pricing page under add-ons.
Newsletters and your domain
If you send a newsletter, it should come from your shop name, not from a no-reply address of a random tool. The tattoo newsletter on OnlineTattoo.art collects subscribers on your own site and sends from your shop name, with an unsubscribe link in every mail.
Checklist
- Choose a short domain based on your shop or artist name
- Test whether people can type it after hearing it once
- Register key variants and redirect them to the main domain
- Never let your existing domain expire
- Set up redirects when you move your website
- Make sure SSL is active
- Use a general email address on your domain for the shop
- Update the link in your Google profile and social bios
If you want to see your work on your own domain, start with a free website preview, or read how the tattoo website builder works.
Photo: Brett Sayles / Pexels
