Terminology

TLDR

  • Domains are registered, not purchased.
  • If you register a domain, you are a domain registrant.
  • You use a registrar to register a domain. These are GoDaddy, Namecheap, Porkbun, etc.
  • Domain registrars send domain registrations to domain registries.
  • ICANN is the governance organization for the industry.
  • A TLD is a top level domain, aka an extension such as .com or .net. There are several types of TLDs including:
    • gTLD - Generic TLDs that anyone can register. ICANN regulates these TLDs.
    • ccTLD - Country code TLDs that are governed by the assigned country. For example, .ca is assigned to Canada and managed by CIRA, a Canadian organization.
  • Registry premium domains differ significantly from standard domains in both price and contractual guarantees.
  • Aftermarket domains are domain registrations that are privately bought and sold using 3rd party marketplaces.

Overview

These are the most basic concepts and definitions that should be understood when registering a domain.

Domain Registration

Domains cannot be purchased or owned. They are registered and, barring abuse that violates the terms of use, a registrant can maintain control of their domain by paying an annual renewal fee.

Registrant

The person registering a domain is considered the registrant. That’s you and me!

Registrars

The customer-facing companies that provide domain registration services are registrars. They handle domain registration and renewal. Domain registrants will have an account with a registrar and the registrar will provide the tools registrants need to manage their domain(s).

Domain registrants almost exclusively deal with registrars.

Registries

Every domain belongs to a domain registry. A registry maintains the authoritative record of domain registrants, i.e., they keep track of who has the rights to each domain. Every TLD has exactly one registry.

Domain registrants almost never interact with domain registries.

ICANN

ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, is the governance organization for the industry. They create the policies and rules that must be followed by registrants, registrars, and registries.

Domain registrants may file a complaint with ICANN if a registrar or registry violates their obligations.

TLDs

There are primarily two types of TLDs that are of interest to registrants; gTLDs and ccTLDs. There are also (sponsored) sTLDs and (infrastructure) iTLDs which are not discussed on this site.

gTLDs

A gTLD is a generic top level domain. They can be registered by anyone and, except for .com and .net, they’re all similar in terms of registrant rights and responsibilities.

ccTLDs

A ccTLD is a country-code top level domain. They’re assigned to countries using two-letter ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes. For example, .ca is assigned to Canada. Each ccTLD is delegated to the corresponding country and all governance related issues are the responsibility of that country.

Registry Premium Domains

Almost all gTLD registries offer registry premium domains. These premium domains are complex products that differ significantly from standard domains.

Aftermarket Domains

Aftermarket domains are domains where the registration is sold via a private transaction. These transactions often occur in 3rd party marketplaces, but can also be used to purchase the registration of domains that may not be advertised for sale.

Do Not Forget

It is important to remember that even with aftermarket domains, you are purchasing the rights to the registration, not ownership of the domain itself. You are effectively taking over a renewable lease.