Best domain registrar (March 2023)

You need a domain name for your website but where do you begin? If you have asked yourself this question (or something similar), you’ll need to understand where to buy a domain name, how to pick a domain name and what a domain registrar service is.

To put it simply, a domain registrar is an entity that registers domain names with an international body called ICANN, which manages domain names (and TLD – top level domains such as .com or .org) globally. It therefore acts as a proxy and will make sure that you’re the official recognized owner of that domain name.

Picking the best domain registrar gives you a head start when it comes to creating a solid website. After all, your readers will find your site through your domain name (once you create one that’s unique to your business).

Registration isn’t difficult, but first you must choose from the hundreds of companies competing for your business, and there are several things for you to consider before committing to one firm. Some of the best website builder (opens in new tab) services and the best web hosting (opens in new tab) providers also offer domain registration services, which makes so much more sense to go for an all inclusive, one stop shop offer.

To help you get started on our online journey, we’ve rounded up the best domain registrars on the market right now so that there is one less thing you have to worry about. We’ve tested all of the domain registrars on our list by purchasing real domains from each service and adding it to test websites we created with website building services. We know our way around a domain registrar and have used each service in our features comparison checks in order to find out which one is the best value for your money.

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Best domain registrar deals of 2023

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1. Get 25% off sitewide with TECHRADAR discount code (opens in new tab)
Want to buy a domain name? Kickstart an online empire? Become a self-made millionaire with a web-based business? Then fill your cart at Domain.com and get 25% off your order by using the discount code TECHRADAR. T&C apply, see further down the page.

2. Free domain name and site builder (opens in new tab)
Finding a domain registrar for your website can be difficult but if you sign up for Bluehost (opens in new tab), you’ll get a free domain and site builder included with your plan. It has also cut the price of its Shared Plan (usually $9.99 p/m) down to just $2.75 per month for the first term, exclusive for TechRadar visitors.

The best domain registrars of 2023

Domain.com logo on orange background

(Image credit: Domain.com)

1. Domain.com domain registrar service

Versatile provider that provides excellent value for money

Today’s Best Deals

Visit Site

Reasons to buy

25% off your order with TECHRADAR discount code

Excellent speeds during testing

Helpful live chat support

Great customer support

Privacy protection

Transparent pricing

Variety of TLDs

Reasons to avoid

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Best prices restricted to longer subscriptions

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No monthly plans

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Too much upselling

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Difficult onboarding process

At the top of our best domain registrar list and perfect for small and medium businesses, Domain.com (opens in new tab) offers some of the most popular domains across over 25 country codes, and also sells premium domains as a broker.

With nearly two decades of online presence, the company – which is one of the world’s biggest domain name registrars – expanded in web hosting and now ranges a number of products including a full design service and web hosting.

Domain.com prices tend to be average but we’ve got you covered with a 25% discount off almost everything in your cart*. Non-premium TLD (.art, .click, .foundation etc) start from $0.99 for the first year. In line with the rest of the industry, they rise significantly after the second year.

You need to pay for privacy protection, a reasonable $8.99, plus you can add email, web hosting, SSL certificates and malware protection, none of which is compulsory. You can stick with its basic website builder which is free with every domain: you get a drag and drop website builder, tons of mobile-friendly templates, up to six pages, SEO tools (opens in new tab), Paypal integration and even access to stock image library.

Support is more than adequate with 24/7 chat, email and phone support. Domain.com may not have the cheapest prices but it provides a very balanced offering.

*All renewals after the initial discounted period will be charged at the then current standard list price for the selected period. Coupon is not valid with sunrise registrations, landrush registrations, EAP registrations, pre-registrations, premium registrations, renewals, transfers, custom website design, other coupons, or special pricing.

Read our Domain.com domain registration service review
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2. Bluehost domain registrar service

Quality domain registrar which offers great value with its hosting bundle

Today’s Best Deals

Visit Site

Reasons to buy

Competitive pricing for domains

Superb value hosting bundle deal

Good customer support

24×7 live chat is helpful

Reasons to avoid

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Not the cheapest domain name registrar

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Non-refundable purchases

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Limited domain transfers

Bluehost (opens in new tab) is one of the best choices out there if you’re looking for a reputable domain registrar which boasts very reasonable pricing. Bluehost sells .com domain at $12.99 per year and .org from $9.99, for example, but those looking for a hosting plan as well can really benefit from an excellent Bluehost offer.

Those buying a shared hosting plan from Bluehost get a free domain thrown in (plus website builder), and that shared plan is usually $9.99 per month, but TechRadar readers can get it for $2.75 monthly (for the initial term) with our exclusive offer. Obviously that’s a strong value proposition indeed (and we’re seriously impressed with Bluehost’s chops as a web host with fast performance and quality live chat support on offer).

When grabbing your preferred domain, Bluehost offers an easy-to-use search system which clearly presents your options (and alternatives if your first choice isn’t available). Furthermore, you can add domain privacy and protection with your purchase, meaning your personal details and profile are kept private, and aren’t publicly visible (via Whois).

Bluehost also gives you the option of auto-renewal, which saves you the trouble of manually renewing your website domain(s) and ensures that there are no accidental lapses which could lead to the name(s) being poached.

Those who are looking for web hosting as well as a domain purchase certainly get plenty of punch in the value for money department with the aforementioned offer, and note there’s a 30-day money-back guarantee if you find yourself unsatisfied with the service.

Read our Bluehost domain registration service review
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3. IONOS domain registrar service

Great offer for the initial price

Today’s Best Deals

Visit Site

Reasons to buy

Nice extras

Great initial offer for most domains

Good value

Clear and simple pricing

Reasons to avoid

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Renewal price is expensive

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Complex user interface

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Weak customer support

IONOS (opens in new tab) is a very well-known company for its great various hosting plans, and their offering on domain registrars is the same.

IONOS offers amazing value for the first year, however after the initial pricing, the renewal price skyrockets. For instance, you can get .com, .org, .net, .biz, and several others for $1 for the first year.

After that, the renewal price for .com is $15/year, and for .org, .net, and .biz it increases to $20/year. Some domains like .mobi are quite expensive, since the initial price is the same as renewal, at $20/year.

After you choose a domain, you’ll also get a professional email address connected to your domain with 2 GB of mailbox space. There’s also the Wildcard SSL certificate, domain lock, up to 10,000 subdomains, and of course the 24/7 customer support if you encounter any trouble.

There are cheaper solutions but IONOS still offers a very good deal with nice extras, and the initial price is quite the bargain. Just keep in mind the renewal price.

Read our IONOS domain registration service review
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Network Solutions logo on green background with spotlight effect

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4. Network Solutions domain registrar service

Accessible and affordable cloud-based packages

Network Solutions – .com Domain

$7.99

/mth

Visit Site

at Network Solutions

Reasons to buy

30-day money-back guarantee

Beginner-friendly approach

Customer support

Affordable hosting

Flexible billing

Reasons to avoid

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Limited hosting options

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Windows servers are not an option

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Relatively pricey

Offering more than just hosting services, Network Solutions (opens in new tab) is also a great choice because of its domain registration services.

When registering a new domain name, Network Solutions offers private registration to protect your personal information online. The extra protection is free for the first month then auto-renews for an additional fee of $1.99 per month.

With Network Solutions, you can register a completely new domain, search through their premium domains, which will help you earn a higher search engine ranking, or bid on and purchase an expired domain name.

With the bidding process, the company updates a list of expired or expiring domain names that you can pick from, with the option to sign up to receive email alerts.

To get a free domain name with Network Solutions, you’ll have to purchase one of its hosting plans, and to get a free SSL certificate (opens in new tab) you’ll need to go for the “Premium” plan.

Network Solutions accepts all major credit cards and PayPal, and for those sceptic about their services, there is a 30-day money-back guarantee. However, if you’ve registered a domain name, it will not be included in the refund but you are free to keep it.

If you have your heart set on a domain name that has already been registered by someone else, Network Solutions provides a certified offer service where you can make an offer to the current owner of the domain you want.

Network Solutions manages the entire process from presenting the offer through to the transfer of the domain name into your account. The offer is presented anonymously from Network Solutions and payment to the seller is never made until the domain is transferred.

Read our Network Solutions domain registration service review
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5. GoDaddy domain registrar service

A big-name provider, but look out for those prices

Today’s Best Deals

Visit Site

Reasons to buy

Loads of hosting add-ons

Telephone support

Easy to use

Excellent customer support

Numerous TLDs available

Reasons to avoid

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High prices

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Alleged domain front-running

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Relatively expensive

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Aggressive upselling

Web giant GoDaddy (opens in new tab) is the world’s biggest domain registrar, currently managing more than 75 million domains for 17 million customers around the globe.

Unlike Bluehost’s domain service, GoDaddy is well-known for its low headline prices, and it’s the same story here, for instance, .org domain is available for $9.99 in year one. On the other hand, .com and .co are less impressive (though still apparently cheap) starting at $11.99. Beware, though: these aren’t the bargains they initially seem.

The first catch is that GoDaddy’s starting prices only apply if you pay for two years upfront, and the second year is significantly more expensive (.com rises to $18.99, .co, .org and .mobi are ridiculously high, $34.99 for .co, $20.99 for .org and $31.99 for .mobi.

Godaddy now offers free basic Whois privacy, a previously optional service. In its simplest form, it redacts your name, address, phone number and email in Godaddy’s WHOIS directory and prevents domain-related spam.

There’s possibly better value to be had elsewhere, but GoDaddy may still appeal to web beginners looking for a bundled hosting and domain registration deal. The company has an array of products covering every possible requirement, with telephone support if you need it, and buying your domain and hosting from the same provider will make life a little easier.

Just keep in mind that other providers can also combine hosting and domain registration, and GoDaddy may not provide the best package for you.

Read our GoDaddy domain registration service review
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Hover logo on dark grey background

(Image credit: Hover)

6. Hover domain registrar service

Quick, easy, and Whois privacy comes free

Today’s Best Deals

Visit Site

Reasons to buy

Free Whois privacy included

Easy to use

Easy search filtering

A ton of top-level domain options

Reasons to avoid

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Support isn’t 24/7

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Expensive

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No web hosting

Hover (opens in new tab), one of the best domain registrar services owned by Tucows, operates eNom and the domain reselling platform OpenSRS.

Hover’s website is clear and straightforward. A domain pricing page allows for checking registration costs before you start, or you can use the search box to immediately locate your preferred TLD (top-level domain).

By default the results page displays every domain you can register and their prices, giving you a lot to scroll through and read. But a handy sidebar allows filtering (opens in new tab) domains by categories including Personal, Businesses, Audio and Video, Food and Drink, and more. It’s a neat touch which could help you spot an appealing domain that you otherwise might have missed.

Prices are very reasonable, with .com domains costing $13.99 for year one, .co.uk priced at $10.99, .org costing $13.99 and .mobi reaching $19.99. Shop around and you’ll find slightly lower prices elsewhere, but Hover generally provides good value.

There’s a welcome bonus in Whois Privacy, which comes free for as long as the domain is managed by Hover.

The company keeps upselling to a minimum, even in the final shopping cart stage. You’re simply offered three email-related extras: email forwarding at $5 a year, a 10GB email account for $20, or you can opt for a 1TB inbox, file sharing, a calendar and more, for an annual $29.

If you have any questions, support is available via email and chat, although it’s not 24/7. Working hours are 8am to 8pm (Eastern Time) Monday to Friday, and 12pm to 5pm at the weekend.

Read our Hover domain registration service review
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Dynadot logo on grey background

(Image credit: Dynadot)

7. Dynadot domain registrar service

A quality registrar that excels (almost) everywhere

Today’s Best Deals

Visit Site

Reasons to buy

Powerful search tool

Intuitive interface

Stacks of free extras

Simplifies registering a domain

Mobile-optimized

Reasons to avoid

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Difficult to manage your domain once registered

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Limited hosting plans

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Relatively expensive

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Bland website templates

Most domain name registrars offer a simple identikit service with little to separate them from the competition, but Dynadot (opens in new tab) is an interesting exception that has some unusual advantages.

This starts right at the beginning, with your initial search. You can use the website much like any other – type your preferred domain, press Enter, read the results – but you also get Bulk and IDN (Internationalized Domain Name) search tools, and advanced options allow defining which domain extensions to include in your searches, as well as setting those as defaults for all future searches.

These searches can optionally return results from domain auctions, Dynadot’s Marketplace (where other customers sell domains they no longer need) and other sources. There’s also a Backorder option to try and grab a domain that isn’t currently available, if it’s not renewed.

Prices are on the low side, with Dynadot offering both special deals on some extensions and good value at renewal. For instance, .com sites is priced at $7.99 for initial price and same for renewal. If you’re after a .co.uk domain, that’ll set you back $2.49 initially ($6.99 on renewal), .org is $8.99 initially, $10.99 on renewal, and .mobi domains are $5.99 initially, $17.99 on renewal.

That’s just the start: Dynadot also piles on the free extras. A Website Builder allows you to build and host a simple one-page responsive website. There’s free domain forwarding if you’d like to redirect visitors somewhere else. DNS support allows creating 50 subdomain records, 10 email addresses, and 5 each of MX and TXT records.

There’s even a Grace Deletion list (opens in new tab) which allows returning a domain if you change your mind. This requires a small fee and won’t always be allowed, but it’s still a welcome extra you’ll rarely find with other registrars.

Dynadot’s support wasn’t always as impressive, with live chat being offline when we checked. But the website does have a publicly available forum (opens in new tab), allowing anyone to browse common questions and see how happy (or otherwise) Dynadot’s customers might be.

Read our Dynadot domain registration service review
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(Image credit: Namecheap)

8. Namecheap domain registrar service

Great value and user-friendly to boot

Namecheap VPS Pulsar

$14.88

/mth

Namecheap VPS Quasar

$24.88

/mth

Visit Site

at Namecheap Inc

Reasons to buy

It’s cheap as the name suggests

Free Whois privacy

Live chat support

Free website builder

Affordable

Reasons to avoid

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No telephone support

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Excessive email communication

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Complicated user interface

Founded in 2000, Namecheap (opens in new tab) is a popular domain name registrar and web host which now manages more than five million domains.

Namecheap’s excellent website allows searching for individual domains, or in batches of up to 50.

If the domain is taken, you can view the Whois record or offer to buy the domain (via DomainAgents) from the current user.

If the domain is available, results are displayed across four tabs: Popular, New, Discounted, and International. This is a neat approach that makes it easier to browse the list and find what you need.

Prices are generally very good at $9.48 (£7) for .com domains – $13.98 on renewal, $2.98(£2.2) for .co.uk – $9.48 on renewal, $8.88 (£6.5) for .org – $14.98 on renewal, and $4.98 (£3.75) for .mobi ($19.98 on renewal). There are some special deals available, and Namecheap has an Agent 88 set of domains which are almost always available at $0.48 (£0.35) for the first year (these usually include the following: .site .website .space .pw .press .host .tech .online and .fun – but there may be others as well).

That would be good value all on its own, but Namecheap doesn’t stop there: you get WhoisGuard domain privacy thrown in for free.

Namecheap’s billing is straightforward and honest, with current and renewal prices clearly described in your Namecheap shopping cart, and Auto-Renew turned off. But if there’s something you don’t understand, helpful FAQ pages and live chat are just a click or two away.

Read our Namecheap domain registration review
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9. Google Domains

No hassles, no tricks, just simple domain registrations

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Reasons to buy

Excellent support

Easy-to-use

Provides a step-by-step wizard

Privacy protection

Robust DNS servers

Reasons to avoid

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Fractionally above average prices

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A few TLDs aren’t supported

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Limited extensions

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Lacks extra features

Shopping around for a domain registrar can involve a lot of hassle as you research companies you’ve never heard of, try to separate genuine bargains from marketing tricks, and browse the small print looking for hidden catches. With potential savings only amounting to a few pounds or dollars a year, at best, you might prefer to simply sign up with a big-name provider that you know will give you a reasonable service, even if it does cost a fraction more.

Enter Google Domains (opens in new tab), Google’s lightweight domain registration arm, a straightforward provider that puts speed and simplicity at the top of its priority list.

Google Domains doesn’t confuse you with endless sales, or ‘special’ deals that turn out to be not so special after all. Upselling is kept to a minimum. Instead, it’s all about making the purchase process as easy as any other online shopping site: search, click, and check out.

The difference is obvious from the moment you reach the site. There are no animated ads at the top of the page, no ‘Sale!’ banners, no low headline prices: just a search box where you enter a single domain.

The results page is equally straightforward, with prices listed for nine common top-level domains, and an All Endings tab listing every option in alphabetical order (domain.academy, domain.bargains, domain.camera).

One potential problem is that Google Domains doesn’t support all the domain extensions you’ll get elsewhere, and this includes some quite common examples (.mobi, .tv). If you think you might ever want to buy something beyond the most popular extensions, it’s a good idea to check that your likely choices are available before you buy.

Prices are standardized to whole numbers, so for example .com, .co.uk and .org domains are all priced at $12. That’s a little above average overall, but better than some, especially as Google Domains throws in free Whois privacy for as long as you’re registered. That’s a valuable extra which could cost $2.80 to $11.20 a year elsewhere.

If you do have any questions, a Help link displays articles on common problems. If that’s not enough, the Contact Us page enables talking to a support agent by email, live chat or telephone (Google calls you), the highest level of domain registrar support we’ve seen anywhere.

Read our Google Domains review
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If you’re torn between Domain.com and Google Domains
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, check out our detailed comparison

Best domain registrar FAQs

How to choose the best domain registrar for you

In order to choose the best domain registration service company, you need to know exactly what you are looking for. Typically, domain names consist of your name or business name, separated by a dot from the TLD (Top-level domain), such as .com or .xyz.

Your choice of both of these elements will significantly impact how easily visitors can find, remember, and recommend your website to others. Finding a domain registrar that can offer all the elements you need for the domain name you had in mind should be the one you go with.

You then need to check the domain name you want is available. Checking across multiple domain registration services is a great way to find out which one has the domain you want to purchase.

Make sure the domain registration service you’ve picked offers basic features like DNS management and email forwarding. Also, compare the pricing, renewal rates, add-ons, and support to see which one offers the best value for money.

Pricing structures can be complicated. A low headline figure could become expensive on renewal, for instance. Prices vary between domain extensions, too, so a registrar that offers great value for a .com domain might give you a poor deal on when it comes to .org.

There may be extra costs for tasks like transferring your domain to another registrar, too. Read the small print before you sign up.

Look for any bundled or optional extras. A Whois privacy service prevents your address, phone number and email address appearing as public contact details for the domain, something which could otherwise get you a significant amount of spam email and phone calls. We’ve seen this cost as much as $11.20 a year, but several registrars provide it for free.

Many domain registrars offer hosting as an extra, but keep in mind that web hosting companies can also register domains. If you have an idea of which web host you’d like to use, check the details of its plans: you may be able to register a domain for free when you buy hosting, and that’s often the cheapest option.

Finally, take a look at the support a registrar offers. You may never need any help at all, but if anything critical crops up – maybe an issue which might cause a problem with renewal – it’s important that your provider is on hand to ably assist.

Balancing all these priorities can be tricky, so that’s why we’ve created this list of top domain registrars to help point you in the right direction.

How to choose a domain extension?

Domain names fall into a number of categories

– Dotcom (or .com) is part of the generic category (gTLD), one that also includes .net, org, .edu, .mil and .gov. There are hundreds of them to choose from and their prices vary from less than $1 to over $1000. Do they provide you with any tangible benefits? Not really. Some of them have restrictions, that’s particularly true for .edu and .gov.

– ccTLD are country code top level domains and like IDD (International Direct Dialling) codes for phone numbers, are assigned at a country level. For example, .co.uk is for the United Kingdom, .fr for France, .it for Italy etc.

As you may guess, we’ve written extensively on how to choose a domain name for your website (opens in new tab)

How we test the best domain registrar services

How we test domain registration services is pretty simple. Our web experts simply insert a keyword with a domain extension on the homepage of each service provider and the system will reveal its availability.

We then purchase the domain and check whether the service comes with all the features it claims to offer. We also compare prices to check whether each domain registrar is offering a service that is good value for your money.

We also test additional features such as GoDaddy’s domain broker service, where a representative will negotiate with the owner of a domain name you want but has already been taken, in order to buy that domain name from them at a reasonable price.

What is a domain registrar?

A domain name registrar provides domain name registrations to the general public. This is a simple explanation to the question, “what is a domain registrar (opens in new tab)?”

To put it in more simple terms, when you come up with a domain name for your website, domain registrars are there to help you buy and register the name for you to use the domain for your site.

Without a domain, your website will not be able to go live on the internet for users to find it.

Registrars provide access to the WHOIS database for each domain name they register, including information about the domain name’s owner and other contact details.

What is a domain name?

A domain name is an essential cog in the World Wide Web. We linked up with Mila Uzunovska, marketing manager at domain name registry NameSilo (opens in new tab), to give us a more thorough introduction to domain names.

“A domain name is the address of a website that is typed by internet users in the URL bar when they want to find a website online. To put it simply, if a website was a house, the domain name would be its physical address.”

How does a domain name work?

The internet can be seen as a huge network of computers connected to each other through a global network of cables where every computer can communicate with the others on the network.

In order to identify other computers, each one gets a unique IP address, which is a series of numbers that identify that computer on the internet. Since IP addresses are long sets of digits, domain names were invented to make it easier for people to remember them and to visit the websites.

Domain name vs IP address: What’s the difference?

With a domain, you don’t have to enter a long set of numbers in the address bar. Instead, you only need to type an easy-to-remember domain name and it will get you to your desired location.

To better understand how this works, take a look at this brief explanation of the entire process:

1. When a user enters a domain name in their web browser, it first sends a request to a global network of servers that form the Domain Name System (DNS).

2. The servers then search for the name servers (computers managed by hosting companies) that are related to the domain and forward the request to them.

3. Next, a hosting company forwards the request to the computer where the website is stored, which is called a web server and it has special software installed that helps it act as a server.

4. The server then fetches the web page and information related to it and sends the data back to the browser (the user sending the request).

Domain names and information are registered and maintained by domain registries. They work with domain registrars in order to provide registration services to users. The end-users select the registrars that provide the registration service and that way registrars become designated for the domain chosen by the user.

Finally, only the designated registrar is able to modify or delete information about domain names in a central registry database, and that is the reason why users sometimes switch registrars. This is called a domain transfer process between registrars and it is governed by specific domain name transfer policies.