I love my job, but one part of it is really annoying. Here's how it goes: I've completed a client's website, they love it, and it's time to launch it for all the world to see. The client had the foresight to register their domain name in advance, to make sure nobody else got to it first. So far so good.

Then I look up the details of the domain registration company and find that they charge an extra £15 per year just to display anything other than their own holding page. Furthermore, they want £10 per year to forward the client's email. Oh and it turns out that the client paid £30 just to register the domain in the first place. I really don't like telling my clients they have to pay anything more than I originally quoted them to get their site online, even if the cost has come from somewhere else.

So here are my recommendations if you want to register a domain name:

• Make sure the domain is registered in your name, and that there are no fees to transfer your domain elsewhere if you are not happy with the registration company.
• Make sure you go with a company that allows full DNS control.  This means that the domain can be set up to point to any web server on the internet, without using dubious techniques such as masked forwarding.
• If you already have an email address but you would like to be able to receive email at your new domain name, check that they offer free email forwarding.
  

Companies that meet these criteria include 123-reg.co.uk and 1and1.co.uk.  Both charge under £10 for a .co.uk domain for two years.

If you want me to register a domain on your behalf when I create your website, I will do this at cost price. You will always retain full ownership of your domain and can move it elsewhere at any time.