Dotdeed · How-To

How to Gift a Domain Name

A step-by-step guide to giving a domain as a printed certificate

Gifting a domain name used to mean awkward registrar transfers and a page of instructions. With Dotdeed, it's as simple as designing a certificate. We handle the printing, the shipping, and the claim process.

Step 1: Pick a domain

Choose a domain that means something: their name, their business, their passion. You can use the Domain Shopper to browse and check availability, or bring a domain you already own. We can register it on your behalf so the gift is a complete surprise.

Step 2: Design the certificate

In the Studio, enter the holder's name and the domain. Pick a theme (Classic or Birthday) and a tier:

• Essential: our certificate artwork with your name and domain, printed on a wooden hanger, ready to hang
• Premium: framed and ready to hang, with the font, colour and wording yours to set
• Elite: everything in Premium, plus the interactive editor

Watch it render live. What you see is what gets printed.

Step 3: Choose the print

Premium and Elite arrive as a framed 8×10" print (matted, ready to hang); Essential ships as an A4 fine-art print on a wooden hanger, ready to hang. Pick your shipping speed, and Dotdeed's print partner (Prodigi) handles production and delivery.

Step 4: Enter the recipient's address

Add where the certificate should be shipped. For a surprise, ship it to their home or office; for a reveal, ship it to yourself and hand it over personally.

Step 5: Checkout

Pay securely by card. Once the order is placed, the certificate is captured at full print quality, uploaded, and submitted to the print network automatically.

Step 6: They receive the certificate

The printed certificate arrives with a QR code. Scanning it takes the recipient to their claim page with the Registry ID already filled in, where they take ownership of the domain. If they can't scan it, the confirmation email has the same link and code, so forward that to them. The printed keepsake and the digital domain come together as a gift that's both physical and real.