A .at domain for your portfolio: give your work its own address

1. Decide where your address should lead

For a design, photography, architecture or student portfolio, the domain is the entry point rather than the collection of your files. First decide what visitors should find there: a selected project overview, a detailed portfolio or a short personal introduction. If your portfolio already exists, check the custom-domain feature at that service. It may require a different subscription. Registering a domain creates neither that website nor an automatic redirect. Confirm how the connection will work before printing the address on cards or adding it to applications. Keep the website project and domain-management details together.

2. Choose between your name and a project name

Your own name can fit when the work should remain associated with you as a person. A project or studio name can make sense when the collection deliberately uses that identity. Judge both options against your next step: will the address still work after graduation, with a different specialism or in an international application? A graduation year or a particular software tool in the name may become a poor fit. Write down three candidates and ask someone to spell them after hearing them aloud. Compare the same options on a small printout; readability matters away from the screen too.

3. Understand .at and availability

The .at ending identifies Austria. It may suit a portfolio with a professional or personal connection to the country. It does not guarantee commissions or a particular search position. Search the complete name you want. An available result is not yet a successful registration, and placing it in the basket does not reserve it. Investigate possible naming conflicts separately from availability; the Austrian Patent Office provides trademark-research information. A free domain name does not replace that check. If an option is taken, look for a clear alternative rather than an easily forgotten string of digits.

4. Budget beyond the first portfolio draft

A portfolio often stays online longer than one application round. Budget beyond the first year. At unchanged current prices, a standard .at domain would cost €44.97 total price over three years: €12.99 registration plus two renewals at €15.99 each. This is a calculation, not a prepaid three-year offer or a guaranteed future price. Your portfolio service and any email mailbox may have separate charges. atdomain.at currently has no automatic renewal or automatic card charge. Note the expiry information shown in your account and arrange renewal through support in good time rather than relying on the site remaining online indefinitely.

5. Connect the correct portfolio project

Once registration has succeeded, open the domain instructions from your website service. Note whether it requires individual DNS records or custom nameservers and which project should receive the address. With our default nameservers, manage DNS in your atdomain.at account; with custom nameservers, edit the active zone there. Copy the type, host and destination accurately. Do not remove existing mail or verification records on a guess. The website service must also assign the domain correctly and provide HTTPS. A saved DNS value alone does not confirm that the portfolio page is working for visitors.

6. Test the route from your application

Open the address as another person will actually receive it. Click the link in your exported CV, type the printed spelling, and test any QR code you use. Check on a phone as well. Does the correct project overview open without your own signed-in session? Do project pages and any offered PDF download work? Upload only work you are allowed to publish; confidential projects do not belong in an unprotected public collection. If some work is deliberately restricted, explain the intended access without placing passwords in public materials. Review the contact details and captions at the same time.

• Open the address from the document you will actually send.
• Check the homepage, key project pages and downloads.
• Test the contact route on a separate device.

7. Keep the address useful when changing platforms

Your domain can remain the same while you replace the website behind it later. That does not happen automatically: the new service needs a suitable connection, and old project paths may need deliberate redirects. Keep a list of links already used in applications, profiles and printed material. Before moving, check whether the new service supports the redirects you need. Keep the previous site reachable according to your transition plan and test the published links again. A constant main address is less helpful if a frequently shared project path stops working after the move. Include those deeper links in your migration notes.

8. Look after portfolio administration too

Keep account access, current contact details and connection instructions in a safe place. If someone helps you build the portfolio, agree beforehand who manages the domain and who maintains the website. Do not share credentials inside publicly accessible project files. After a new order, check the confirmation and account status rather than assuming payment alone proves registration is complete. atdomain.at provides domain registration, DNS management with default nameservers and support for custom nameservers. We do not currently sell hosting or email mailboxes. Contact our support team for questions about the domain or its connection to your chosen website.