Register a French .fr domain – secure, smooth, and cost-effective

When can it be beneficial to have a French domain?

A French top-level domain is good to have if you are looking to establish yourself in the European market in general, and the French market in particular. If you are going to start a business in France, or if you plan to expand an already existing business there, a .fr domain will be an important step on the road to success. You become more visible in the French market and gain advantages such as strengthened trademark protection and better SEO ranking.

From a timing perspective, it is strategically always best to register a domain as early as possible – before you apply for any potential trademark registration in France, and before you start marketing yourself. This is to secure better trademark protection. By registering a domain name identical to your company name, you prevent someone else from purchasing the domain and using it for fraudulent purposes.

Registration conditions and technical limitations

France's official top-level domain is open to businesses and individuals within the EU. If you live outside the EU, you need to have a local contact to be able to register a .fr domain. We at Abion can assist with this.

The top-level domain .fr is managed by the Association Française pour le Nommage Internet en Coopération (A.F.N.I.C.), which is also the entity that has established the basic registration conditions that apply:

• Number of allowed characters: 1-63
• Minimum number of name servers: 2
• Allowed characters: letters (a-z, ß, à, á, â, ã, ä, å, ae, ç, è, é, ê, ë, ì,í, î, ï, ñ, ò, ó, ô, õ, ö, ù, ú, û, ü, ý, ÿ, oe), numbers (0-9), and hyphens (-).

In addition to the above technical restrictions and conditions, your domain name must also comply with laws and be unique. If your intended domain name is taken by another party, Abion can, upon request, assist with the inquiry for acquiring the existing domain.

From registration to effective protection

Registration of a French domain is done through an approved registrar with the appropriate authority. At Abion can offer fast, cost-effective, and accurate registration of your French domain completely without intermediaries. We have the authority to register all of the world's top-level domains, including .fr domains, without the need for external providers. For you as a customer, this means that the process will be smoother, safer, and cheaper.

In addition to assistance with the registration itself, we can also provide professional domain consultation to design an appropriate domain strategy. This is done before the registration and aims to identify, among other things, the target audience and focus for your French domain.

Complete domain management in Abion Core

Do you want better control over all your domains and not have to think about renewals? In our customer portal Abion Core, you can gather all your domains, take advantage of automatic renewals and included Anycast DNS, as well as numerous smart services for domain management. Here you can, among other things, see features for web security, brand protection, hosting, secure email, and various certificates. With us, you don't just get help buying a French domain – we offer a complete comprehensive solution that covers all your needs.