Reader Domain Name Registration – Where And How To Register
Domain Name Registration – Where And How To Register
You’ve chosen your domain name and now you want to register the name. Well, the only way to register a domain name is to use the services of a domain name registrar as these are the only people permitted to conduct domain name registration, that is to access and modify the master database of domain names maintained by InterNIC which contains the documentation on all of the domain names registered to date.
A domain name registrar is an entity, accredited by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) or by a National Country Code Top-Level Domain (ccTLD) authority, to manage the reservation of Internet domain names in accordance with the guidelines of the designated domain name registries and offer such services to the public.
- The domain name industry is regulated and overseen by ICANN and ccTLDs.
If you find an organisation selling domain name registration who are not on the list of accredited registrars they are either;
- acting as a reseller for one of the accredited registrars as only an accredited registrar has the ability to modify the database of domain names, or
- selling pre-registered domain names.
Until 1999, Network Solutions (NSI) was the only domain name registrar, but today there are dozens of accredited registrars to chose from.
ICANN accredited registrars are authorised to assign domain names for the Top Level Domains (TLDs). ICANN does not, specifically accredit registrars to provide registration services for Country Code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs).
- TLDs (.aero, .arpa, .asia, .biz, .cat, .com, .coop, .edu, .info, .int, .jobs, .mobi, .museum, .name, .net, .org, .pro, and .travel)
National Country Code Top-Level Domain (ccTLD) are handled by local accredited registrars (see Nominet) and this is why sometimes you have to go to different WhoIs registrars for registration and database information.
Nominet (http://www.nic.uk/) is the Internet registry for .uk domain names. They maintain the register of .uk domain names and run one of the world’s largest Internet registries, managing over eight million domain names. Nominet also operate a WHOIS server from their home page.
- There are no fixed (public) costs involved in registering a domain name so the registrar you choose will determine the cost of registering. This can lead to considerable savings, so shop around.
You can expect to pay a yearly fee, with some registrars offering large discounts if you register for more than one year with a maximum 10-year registration contract allowed for any domain name.
The registrar will require you to provide contact and technical information which is stored in a public registry which can be accessed to find information on your site. While it may seem like a privacy issue, be honest when supplying the contact information to a registrar or you may have difficulties later as the registrar can cancel a contract and resell the domain name if they cannot contact an actual person to settle any legal issues arising (highly unlikely).
There are many laws that regulate the registration of domain names, such as registering a copyrighted name or registering a domain name for the sole purpose of stopping someone else using it. Check with your domain name registrar for the laws that affect how you register your domain name.
If you want a domain name and are not sure if it has already been taken, you can check a whois server that keeps track of all the registered domain names such as interNIC or Nominet.
You can research your domain name choices at any of the registrars listed in my article, ‘Where to Register Domain Names". Most of these registrars provide domain name registration, domain name hosting, FREE domain name search facilities and some even give you a FREE domain name if you accept their domain name hosting package.
