What Is A Domain Registrar?

Date First Published: 18th January 2022

Topic: Computer Networking

Subtopic: Network Services

Article Type: Computer Terms & Definitions

Difficulty Level: 5/10

A domain registrar is an organisation that allows users to register domain names. These are alphanumeric URLs that appear in the address bar of web browsers, eliminating the need for people to memorise IP addresses, and reflecting the brand of the website better. Registrants can also connect their domains to their web hosting provider by setting the nameservers, which help connect the domain name with the IP address of the website and store DNS records.

Domain registrars must be accredited by ICANN and the registries. The domains names that they register are actually owned by the registry and leased to users for 1-10 years.

Difference Between A Domain Registrar and A Domain Registry

Although the terms 'domain registry' and 'domain registrar' are sometimes used synonymously, they are not the same things. A domain registrar is an organisation that provides domain name registration services to users. A domain registry is an organisation that manages TLDs, such as '.com' or '.org', controls the policies of domain name allocation, is responsible for the registration of domain names, and maintains a database of all domain names and the associated registrant information, which is maintained by the IANA and ICANN.

VeriSign, the registry of .com domains charges domain registrars a fee for the domains that they register, which is included in the price that the registrant pays for the domain name. In addition, domain registrars have to pay a small fee to ICANN.

Domain registrars do not actually maintain domain names. They just provide a service that allows the registration of domain names and the domain name registry maintains the domain names. All domain names are actually owned by all of the registries. Domain names are just leased to users for a limited span of time, with an absolute maximum of 10 years before renewal. It is possible for registrants to keep domain names for as long as they want to, since domain registrars offer unlimited renewals.

Steps Of A User Registering A Domain Name

The steps of a user registering a domain name are:

1. The user searches for a domain name to find out whether the domain is available. Domain registrars keep track of which domains are available and taken by connecting with WHOIS. If WHOIS information is listed, the domain is already registered. If no information exists in the registry, the domain is available for registration. The easiest and quickest way to see whether a domain is available is by performing a WHOIS search here
2. The user chooses a TLD for their domain name.
3. The user provides their contact information which is stored in the WHOIS database, although it can be hidden with WHOIS privacy.
4. The user pays for the domain name and chooses the number of years they want to register it for.
5. The user has successfully registered the domain name and can now manage nameservers, DNS records, and other settings.

Examples Of Domain Registrars

Examples of major domain registrars are:

• Godaddy - The most well-known domain registrar.
• Namecheap - Additionally provides SSL certificates and web hosting.
• Namesilo - Additionally provides web hosting, email, and SSL certificates.
• Name.com - Web hosting included.
• Domain.com - Offers a wide range of TLDs.
• Google Domains - Domain registration service provided by Google. Offers free WHOIS privacy protection.

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