names.co.uk

What names.co.uk is

names.co.uk is a UK domain registrar and web host that also sells website building tools. Its home page presents an AI Website Builder under the line "Websites that Wow", described as a way to create a website "with our drag-and-drop builder", next to web hosting, business email and a long list of domain extensions. The company says it has over 25 years of experience and that its support teams work from Worcester, England. The audience is the small business owner or founder in the UK who wants the domain, the site and the email address from a single supplier, and who may or may not want to describe an app to an AI instead of dragging blocks around.

What you build and how

There are three routes to a site, and the company's navigation groups them clearly.

The first is the Website Builder. The company says it is "designed from the ground up to make designing a website as quick and simple as possible" and that it ships with "dozens of professionally-designed templates, each one tailored for a specific industry or type of website". New features are dragged onto the page where they are needed, and images and text change "in a couple of clicks". The site states that every website the builder produces is optimized for smartphones and tablets. The navigation also lists a Build an Online Shop option, a Take Online Bookings option and a Website Design Service, so the builder is positioned for a shop or an appointment business as well as a brochure site. The online booking service is pitched as a way to let customers "book with you anytime, anywhere," and the Website Design Service covers the owner who would rather have the site built for them.

The second route is Macaly AI, which the navigation flags as new and describes as a vibe coding tool that "turns ideas into websites, web apps and tools in minutes". The comparison guide says the pricing it shows "reflects the UK plans available through names.co.uk", so Macaly AI is a tool names.co.uk offers to its UK customers rather than its own in-house builder. The company's guides explain the method: you describe your idea, the AI builds the first version, and you keep refining it through prompts, asking for changes such as adding a dark mode, changing the homepage layout, creating a login page or adding customer profiles. The guide lists what you can do with it: describe websites and web applications in everyday language, generate pages and functionality, create databases automatically, host the application, publish on your own domain, keep refining conversationally, access the generated code, use built-in statistics and build using WhatsApp. Its capability table adds SSL, GitHub integration, SEO tools, server-side rendering, real-time data by default, automated browser testing, voice and image input and direct visual editing. Popular projects named in the guides are business websites, customer portals and booking systems.

The company's own guide on vibe coding explains how this differs from no-code: no-code tools rely on drag-and-drop editors, templates and visual workflows, while vibe coding works through natural language conversations. It adds that many AI builders now combine both, so you can work conversationally and still use visual editing.

The third route is WordPress. The navigation lists WordPress Hosting, Managed WordPress, Managed WooCommerce and an AI WordPress Assistant, for people who want the WordPress ecosystem instead of a hosted builder. Managed WordPress is described as "a fast, secure WordPress platform, fully managed so you can focus on growing your business," and general Web Hosting as flexible hosting "from simple sites to fully custom projects." The company also lists Reseller Hosting and WePanel Hosting, and an Online Control Panel for managing the account.

Around all of this sits the domain side: a domain search, transfers, renewals, managed DNS, domain monitoring, domain acquisition and brand protection services, and business email hosting. The home page also lists Microsoft 365, SSL certificates and an Online Compliance service pitched as "Get GDPR compliant", a check meant to keep a customer's website legally compliant. The domain, its DNS records, the mailbox and the site can then sit with the same supplier.

The evidence from the pages

Macaly AI is the builder whose pricing the company's pages spell out. The comparison guide says the UK offer includes 30 days free, followed by Macaly AI Pro at £25 per month. An annual option is £275 per year, which the page says equals £22.92 per month. For projects that are already built, a Hosting Only plan costs £10 per month. The guide's own table lists Macaly AI with a 30-day free trial, while the home page invites visitors to "Try our free plan."

For the classic Website Builder, the home page shows no plan names or prices. Domain pricing is shown: a single .co.uk domain free for one year and a .com for £1.99 for the first year, with .uk and .org.uk at £3.99, .net at £8.99 and .org at £7.99 for one year. The page says such offers are for the first billing period only, do not apply to renewals and are limited to online transactions.

Support is a strong point on the company's own account. The home page lists telephone and ticket support Monday to Friday from 8am to 5:30pm and ticket-only support at weekends and on bank holidays, describes "Multi-channel support" by local-rate phone number or online ticket, promises "expert help and advice 7 days a week", and points to an online Support Centre with guides. The guides themselves include What is Vibe Coding and How to Build an App with AI. The home page quotes Trustpilot reviewers, one of whom has been "a happy customer for 20 years".

Who it suits and who it does not

names.co.uk suits a small UK business that wants a single supplier for domain, hosting, email and a simple site, with phone support from a UK team. The drag-and-drop builder with industry templates fits a shop, a local service or a portfolio, and the Online Shop and Online Bookings options mean the common small-business jobs have a named route. A founder who wants an AI-built prototype can try Macaly AI for 30 days before paying £25 a month, and keeps access to the generated code.

It is a weaker fit for a team that needs workflow automation or governed multi-user building, since the pages describe a site and app builder for small businesses rather than an operations platform. A developer who wants deep control over the runtime will find that the Macaly route is designed to hide the environment rather than expose it. The home page shows no plans for the classic builder, so its shop limits are a point to settle before moving a domain over.