People often confuse a website with a domain name. This article will let you know what a domain name means, and how to register it. The objective is to help you do the right domain registration for your website
A domain name signifies an address of a website. When you type a specific domain name on the browser’s URL spacebar and search, it takes you to the relevant website. The Internet is a wide network that helps people communicate through computers or any other devices connected to it. To identify the location and device connected to the Internet, an IP address, which contains a series of numbers, is assigned. However, an IP address is difficult to identify and use. A domain name solves this problem, for it is easy to remember a simple and short name chosen by the website owners.
The Internet users can easily remember and type a domain on the browser’s address and it helps them access the desired website. Nevertheless, every website should be registered with a unique domain to gain visibility and accessibility to the related website.
All about domain registration process
If you want to have a domain name of your own, you must register it with a registrar. It should be noted that registrars do not manage or maintain a domain name. Instead, they are part of registries accredited by ICANN to register domain names. The Registries authorize the registrars for the commercial sales of domain name registration. For instance, the registrar has to notify and pay the registries if they sell a domain to a website owner.
In short, a registrar facilitates transactions and services of the registry. By registering a domain name for your website, you can access the website through the domain name for a certain period until it expires. Technically speaking, the registries own all domains. You cannot own a domain name; instead, you can lease it for a certain period. The registrars reserve the domain name for you until you pay for it.
What is domain registration?
A user can hold a domain name by registering the chosen domain name with a registrar. A domain name can be purchased for a span of one to 10 years, or even more. The user can choose the amount of time and register the domain name for his or her website and renew it before it expires.
Why should you do domain registration?
By doing domain registration, your website will gain identity and trustworthiness. The inquiries, queries, and emails from your website will be automatically redirected to your personal or organization’s email. This will help you to have direct contact with your customers or visitors and get feedback directly from them. It will help improve your business or activity.
When you register a domain name, the related registrar protects the user privacy of the website. For example, if you want a top-level domain name, you should fill out the WHOIS information which will be updated on the registry, and from then, your data such as the email address, phone number, name and address are visible to the public. If you don’t want others to see your personal information, you can shield it by opting for privacy protection during the domain registration.
In addition, it is the responsibility of registrars to keep the customer data safe and secure from any malicious intruders. For this reason, ICANN asks the registrars to protect the domain names by:
- Generating authorization codes during the domain transfer process
- Implementation of domain locks
- Verifying the identity of all registration processes
This will help prevent the transfer of a domain name to anyone without the domain name owner’s knowledge, and keep a domain name unique and safe until its validity expires.
