The .am domain is the country code domain of Armenia. Many people outside Armenia also like it because "am" reads like the English word, and because short names are often still available. For a business that works in Yerevan, .am is a simple signal: we are here, we are local. This guide covers how to choose, register and connect a .am domain without surprises.
Who uses .am domains
- Local businesses: restaurants, salons, clinics, agencies, shops.
- International companies with an Armenian office or Armenian audience.
- Startups that like short names and creative spelling.
- Personal brands and freelancers working in Armenia.
Our own website kinto.am and the projects we built, such as wse.am and restorefactory.am, all use .am.
.am or .com
| Question | .am | .com |
|---|---|---|
| Looks local to Armenian users | Yes | Neutral |
| Familiar to international users | Mostly | Yes |
| Short names available | More often | Rarely |
| Works with Google and Yandex | Yes | Yes |
If most of your clients are in Armenia, .am is a natural choice. If you sell worldwide, keep a .com as the main domain and use .am for a local version or as a redirect.
How registration works
- Check the name. Use the registrar's search. Short dictionary words are often taken, but combinations and brand names are usually free.
- Register through an accredited registrar. In Armenia there are several hosting and domain companies that sell .am domains.
- Use your own details. The domain must be registered to you or your company. This is the most important rule of the whole process.
- Pay for one year or more. Set a reminder or enable auto-renewal, because an expired domain stops your website and email.
After payment the domain is usually activated within hours. Some registrars show a "pending" status first while the registry approves the request.
Connecting the domain to your website
A domain alone does not show anything. You need DNS records:
- A record for the main domain, pointing to your server's IP address.
- A record or CNAME for www, so both versions open the website.
- MX records if you want email on the domain.
- TXT records for services like Google Search Console.
After the records are saved, the website usually opens within an hour. Some internet providers keep old answers in cache for a few hours. Then you install an SSL certificate so the website opens with https, which browsers and search engines expect.
Checklist before you buy
- The name is short, easy to say on the phone and easy to type.
- No hyphens or confusing letters if possible.
- You checked that the name is not a well-known brand of someone else.
- The domain is registered in your name, with your email.
- You know who manages the DNS and you have the login.
Common problems
- Domain registered by a former contractor. Getting it back can take weeks. Always register in your own name.
- Expired domain. The website and email stop working. Auto-renewal solves this.
- DNS zone not created. Some registrars require you to create a DNS zone manually after purchase, otherwise the domain does not resolve. We have seen this delay launches by a day.
- No SSL. Browsers show a warning and visitors leave.
Email on your .am domain
A domain is not only for the website. An address like hello@yourname.am looks more professional than a free mailbox and keeps client communication in the company if an employee leaves. To set it up you choose an email service, add its MX and verification records to the domain's DNS, and create mailboxes. Many small businesses start with one shared address for requests and add personal addresses later.
If requests come to your Telegram through a bot, email becomes less critical for daily work, but it is still useful for invoices, contracts and official letters.
How to choose a good name
A good name is easy to say and hard to misspell. Try this test: say the name to a friend on the phone and ask them to type it. If they ask "how do you spell it?" more than once, look for something simpler.
| Good signs | Warning signs |
|---|---|
| One or two short words | Long phrases |
| Same as the business name | Unrelated words |
| No hyphens | Several hyphens or digits |
| Easy to read in Latin letters | Letters that look alike (l, I, 1) |
For a local business, adding the city can help when the main name is taken, for example yourbrandyerevan.am. For a brand that may grow abroad, keep the name neutral.
Moving an existing website to a .am domain
If you already have a website on another domain, you can switch carefully:
- Register the .am domain and connect it to the same server.
- Set up permanent (301) redirects from old addresses to the same pages on the new domain.
- Update the domain in Google Search Console and Yandex Webmaster.
- Change the address in Google Business Profile, social media and printed materials.
Done this way, you keep most of the search history of the old domain.
What Kinto does as part of a launch
When we build a website, the domain is part of the job. We help you choose a name, register it in your name, configure DNS and SSL, and connect search tools. A landing page starts at $700 and a multi-page website at $1,800; the domain itself is paid at the registrar's price. See the full pricing.
Key takeaways
- Register the .am domain in your own name, never in a contractor's.
- Choose a short name that is easy to say on the phone and to type.
- After registration create the DNS zone and records, then install SSL.
- Keep .com and .am together if you have both local and international clients.
- Use 301 redirects when moving an existing website to keep search history.
Next step
Have a name in mind? Write it to @kinto_am on Telegram or leave a request on kinto.am, and we will check it and suggest alternatives. We answer within 15 minutes between 10:00 and 20:00.
Updated: 2026-10-12