How to Register a .ae Domain and Launch Your First Business Website

To register a .ae domain, search for your name on an accredited registrar and choose the plain yourname.ae version, which needs no documents. AEserver is one of the most reliable accredited registrars that businesses in the UAE use. Next, you enter your contact details and pay.

Your domain usually goes live within a day or two. However, your website launch takes longer, because you need four items in place before going live:

• Business email
• Hosting
• A mobile-optimized website
• Basic SEO

This guide shows you how to register a .ae domain and launch your website, in an order you can easily follow.

4 Reasons to Choose a .ae Domain for Your UAE Business

It tells customers you’re local: Readers who see your .ae address on a business card, van, or Google result know you operate in the UAE.

Google learns which country you serve: A .ae domain tells Google your site targets the UAE. As a result, Google treats your site as more relevant for UAE searches. On the other hand, businesses that sell across the Gulf Cooperation Council countries or worldwide from day one may prefer a .com.

You secure your brand name: Whoever registers a domain first gets it. So if someone registers yourbrand.ae before you, getting the domain back is slow and expensive.

You can register .امارات too: Arabic-speaking customers can then type your entire website address using only Arabic letters on an Arabic keyboard. This pairs well with a bilingual Arabic and English website.

.ae Domain Requirements and Eligibility in 2026

If your domain looks like yourbrandname.ae, you need no documents. In contrast, if your domain looks like yourbrandname.co.ae, with .co added before .ae, you need documents that prove your business qualifies. For example, those documents include a trade license or a trademark certificate.

1) A yourbrandname.ae Domain Needs No Documents

Who can register: People in any country can register. You need no UAE residency and no local company. The .aeDA eligibility policy asks for no documentary evidence for names directly under .ae.

Name rules: Use 2 to 63 characters, with letters, numbers and dashes only. The name can’t start or end with a dash, and it can’t contain spaces. Also, dashes can’t sit in both the third and fourth positions.

Best for: Startups and personal brands.

2) A yourbrandname.co.ae Domain Needs Documents

First, you look for a .co.ae, .net.ae, .org.ae, .sch.ae, .ac.ae, .gov.ae, or .mil.ae domain on a registrar’s website, such as AEserver or 101domain. Then you search for your name there.

However, before you pay, the website asks you to upload a document that proves your organization qualifies. You upload the file and continue to payment. Each registrar designs its own upload page, so the page looks different on websites like AEserver and 101domain.

For .co.ae, 101domain’s .co.ae rules accept a mainland or free zone trade license, or a UAE trademark. The name must also match your company name or trademark, and the contacts need a UAE address that matches the document.

Our recommendation: Register yourbrandname.ae if your business is new. It needs no documents, and the name is shorter than yourbrandname.co.ae. Then add yourbrandname.co.ae after you get a trade license.

Five Steps to Register Your .ae Domain

Step 1: Search for Your .ae Domain Name

Pick the name you want, such as yourbrandname, and type it into the search box on a website that sells .ae domains. For instance, Tasjeel (run by Host Arabia), AEserver, Etisalat, and du are four of them. The box shows whether yourbrandname.ae is free or already registered by someone else.

You can also check the .aeDA WHOIS lookup, a page that shows whether a .ae name is registered.

If someone has registered your name, add your city or a word for what you sell to the end of it. For example, if yourbrandname.ae is taken, search yourbrandnamedubai.ae or yourbrandnamecleaning.ae. After that, type the same name ending in .com into the same search box. This shows whether the .com is free too.

Step 2: Choose an Approved Registrar

You buy your .ae domain from a registrar, which is a website the .aeDA has approved to sell .ae names. The four websites named in Step 1 are all registrars. Meanwhile, TDRA keeps the full list of accredited .ae registrars on its website. Pick one website from that list.

Step 3: Fill Out the Registration Form

After you pick your name, the registrar’s website shows a registration form. Type the registrant, the person or company that will own the domain. For yourbrandname.ae, the form needs nothing more. For yourbrandname.co.ae, however, the website asks for your trade license or trademark certificate.

When you register a .ae domain, type your company’s name as the registrant, and use an email address your company controls. In our experience, the most common problem we fix starts when a freelancer or former employee registers your domain from a personal account.

Step 4: Pay for Your .ae Domain

Choose how many years to pay for, from one year to several. Note that an expired domain stops your website address from working. So if you choose a longer term, you get fewer renewal dates to forget.

Step 5: Wait for Confirmation

A yourbrandname.ae domain usually goes live within 24 to 48 hours. The registrar then emails you a confirmation that gives you access to your DNS settings. Open the email and check that the owner name and email address match what you typed in Step 3. If either is wrong, contact the registrar.

Three Steps After You Register Your .ae Domain

1. Create Your Business Email

Sign up for Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, two services that provide business email. Enter your domain during sign-up, then create addresses such as [email protected] and [email protected].

Next, open the DNS settings at your registrar, the website where you bought the domain. Add an MX record there. An MX record tells the internet which service receives your email, so messages sent to your new addresses arrive. The email service gives you the exact values to type in.

Then add SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. These are the records that show Gmail, Outlook, and other services that your emails really come from your business. Without them, your emails are likely to land in clients’ spam folders.

2. Choose Hosting

Hosting is the service that stores your website and sends it to visitors.

• If your site only shows information about your business, choose shared hosting.
• If your site runs on WordPress, choose managed WordPress hosting.
• If you sell online or expect high traffic, choose VPS or cloud hosting.

Don’t worry too much about the server location, because it matters less than it used to. A host that uses a CDN will load your website quickly in the UAE even if its main server is in Europe. To check a host’s speed, run a site it hosts through Google PageSpeed Insights.

3. Choose How to Build Your Website

• If you want the quickest and cheapest website, use Wix, Squarespace, or another DIY website builder. Our guide to the best website builders compares them. Note that once your site grows, the builder may limit what you can add.
• If you want a flexible site, use WordPress with a page builder. A page builder is a tool that lets you arrange page layouts by dragging blocks. Many developers know WordPress, so you can find a freelancer easily.
• If you want a customized website for your business with mobile optimization as well, hire an agency. For this route, see our web development services, or read about how long a website build takes in Dubai.

Four Mistakes to Avoid With Your .ae Domain

1- Don’t apply for .co.ae without a trade license: The registrar rejects your application. Register yourbrandname.ae first.

2- Don’t skip adding the .com: Otherwise, a competitor can register it and catch your misdirected traffic and email.

3- Don’t launch without HTTPS: If you launch without it, browsers will label your site Not Secure, and visitors will leave.

4- Don’t leave SEO until after launch: You then pay more to fix page titles, site structure, and redirects than to set them up before launch. Our redesign checklist shows how costly those fixes get.

How Digital Gravity Launches Your .ae Website for You

If you’d rather hand us the whole process, we do these five jobs for you:

• Domain registration: We choose your .ae name with you, then register that name and the .com in your company’s name.
• Set up your business email: We create addresses on Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. Then we add SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records so your email reaches inboxes, not spam.
• Custom design: We build customized English and Arabic pages that are mobile optimized.
• SEO implementation: Before launch, our SEO team writes your page titles and organizes your pages so that they can get indexed and rank.
• Ongoing support: Our agile work model offers you post-launch updates, website maintenance, and performance monitoring.

Book a free consultation to start. On one call, we plan your domain and website with you.

FAQs

How much does a .ae domain cost?

A .ae domain typically costs AED 110 to AED 180 a year, depending on the registrar. For example, AEserver lists AED 125 for year one and AED 145 at renewal, before 5% VAT. So compare renewal prices, not just first-year offers.

Do I need a trade license to register a .ae domain?

No. To register a .ae domain like yourname.ae, you need no trade license. You only need one for restricted zones such as .co.ae.

How long does activation take?

A plain .ae domain is usually live within 24 to 48 hours of payment. Restricted domains such as .co.ae take longer while the registrar checks your documents. DNS changes may then take a few more hours to update.

Can I register a .ae domain from outside the UAE?

Yes. Plain .ae domains have no residency requirements, so any foreign individual or company can register one. Restricted zones like .co.ae need local documents.

What’s the difference between .ae and .co.ae?

Yourname.ae is open to anyone, needs no documents, and is shorter to type. Yourname.co.ae is reserved for UAE-licensed businesses with a trade license or trademark. For most new businesses, .ae is the simpler choice.

Should I register both .ae and .com?

If the .com is available at a reasonable price, yes. Owning both stops competitors from using your name, and you can redirect the .com to your .ae site. Then use your main address everywhere, including on Google Business Profile.

How much does a business website cost in the UAE?

It depends on the route. DIY builders cost least, WordPress sites sit in the middle, and custom agency builds cost the most. See our web design cost guide for current Dubai prices.

Ready to Launch Your UAE Business Website?

Registering the domain is the easy part. Getting a site live that loads fast, ranks, and turns visitors into enquiries is where most first launches stall. As a web design company in Dubai, Digital Gravity designs and builds websites for UAE businesses, from domain setup through launch and ongoing SEO.