Checking Domain Name Availability
A domain name cant be registered if it is already claimed by someone else, even if its not actually being used, but its easy to find out if your domain name is available in the form you want. One quick way to check for the availability of a domain name is to do a simple web search. Type in the name you want to use, including the top-level domain, or TDL extensions, such as .com or .net. That can reveal whether the name is currently in use, and your search may even provide some suggested alternatives.
A more thorough and reliable way to check for the availability of a domain name is to run your desired name through a name search tool. Before you register a domain, you have to use a domain checker that can scan all unavailable names. These tools are available from every domain registrar, as well as web hosting companies that include domain name registration with a hosting package. To check for availability, type in your desired name and add the extension you want to use. The search tool then returns a result: the name is available or its already taken. If your domain name is available, you can do a domain name registration immediately by paying the required fees for a selected period of time, typically one to three years.
Can I Look Up Org Info Biz Us Or Tel Domains
DOMAINS
Some Of Those Domains Are Ancient
When I say ancient in Internet terms, I mean eighties. I know the 80s and the Internet dont really go together, but some of the brands from this 100 list actually registered their .com domains among the first domain registered, ever! Symbolics.com was the first domain registered ever, on March 15, 1985. What about companies from our 100 list of top brands? Since getting a date of registration is very easy with our Whois API, lets check this list.
When did top brands register their .com domain names?
Have in mind that some of these domains were registered before their respective companies were founded. Facebook.com is a good example since it had several moves. The company started on TheFacebook.com. The domain name itself was registered on 2004-01-11 , and the company, then known as TheFacebook, Inc. was incorporated in Delaware on July 29, 2004. As many know, the company then raised significant funding and traction, thus buying facebook.com and filing a name amendment to Facebook, Inc. in 2005. Facebook.com the domain name, was registered on 29 March, 1997.
3. Nissan doesnt own nissan.com
Japanese automaker Nissan is currently the 59th brand in the world. Ahead of Sony, Allianz, JP Morgan, Canon, and many others.
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What Is A Domain Name
A domain name is a bit like your physical address in that its how people find you out there on the World Wide Web. Thats why we call the bar at the top of a web browser the address bar its where you enter a domain name to find a website.
If a domain name is like your address then the server your website is hosted on is like the physical building. When you create a website, you set your domain name to point to your server so that if people want to find your website, they can enter your domain name and itll take them straight there. Without a domain name, visitors would have to enter the IP address of your server.
Pretty much every website that you visit uses a domain name. Google.com is a domain name, for example. Facebook is the name of the website and Facebook.com is their domain name.
Domain names come in all shapes and sizes, but the one thing that they all have in common is that theyre made of two parts the label and the top-level domain . A huge variety of top-level domain extensions are available, from country codes to specific codes for sectors like .gov for government organisations and .edu for educational institutions.
Read Also: What Is The Best Domain Extension
Find Your Domain Host
I Need To Check Whether A Domain Name Is Available Can Ionos Help
Before you use the IONOS domain check to see if the domain you want is available, it’s important that you think carefully about what you want your domain name to be. Choosing your domain name will be one of the most important decisions you make when it comes to building your website. Play around with some ideas and take the advice of friends and colleagues. As you begin to come up with potential domains, you can check which ones are available on the IONOS site. This will allow you to filter out ideas that are already taken and start whittling down your list.
All you need to do is visit ionos.co.uk and type a potential domain name into the checker. The IONOS check will immediately see if the domain name is available for you to register and also provide you with other possible top-level domain names if your initial choice is not available. In addition, it will display the domain names that may have been occupied in the past but are now free for you to register.
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Nissan Doesnt Own Nissancom
This brings us to 99 out of 100 brands. Dont think that this 1 brand didnt fight hard to get its.com, I am using this brand as an example of how hard brands are willing to fight to get their .com. Some buy their .com, some get it with UDRP from squatters. I wont get too much into that .
Japanese automaker Nissan is currently the 59th brand in the world. Ahead of Sony, Allianz, JP Morgan, Canon, and many others.
Nissan sues this person Uzi Nissan for 10 million dollars in damages. This battle for nissan.com lasted from December 1999 until February 2008! However, my man Uzi still owns Nissan.com and has since 1994. He bought it before Nissan was Nissan the automaker . And its still not clear if Nissan gave up on it!
Protip The strategy you will get a better domain when you have more money sometimes may not work.
How Do I Choose The Best Domain Name For My Website
Choosing and buying the best option isn’t just about finding an available domain. There are some standard best practices to keep in mind before you look up a domain name and register it.
Length. Keep it short. Two to three words is ideal.
Simple. Dont use any lengthy or hard-to-spell words.
Keywords. Include a keyword from your niche. For example, if you sell coffee beans in Seattle, try Seattlecoffeebeans.com.
Avoid numbers. Numbers are hard to remember and make everything more complex.
Brand name. Register a domain with your brand name in it for maximum recognition.
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What Is A Whois File
When the registrant applies for or registers a domain name, he/she is required to provide his/her contact details, which are then stored in the WHOIS record. Depending on the gTLD, these details can be summary or comprehensive. The WHOIS record usually contains the following details:
- REGISTRANT or DOMAIN NAME OWNER: the person that has the right to use the domain name.
- ONSITE: the name of the technical contact of the registrant this can be the person who built the website, the hosting provider, etc.
- TECHNICAL: the technical contact of the registrar
Read Also: How To Claim A Web Domain
What Is A Domain Availability Checker
You can use our domain name availability checker to determine whether a meaningful name is available on an a.tech domain. You do not need to make a trade-off in domain name selection. This is the dawn of a new era of domains, which means that you can now express yourself creatively on both sides of the dot.
Our one-of-a-kind domain name checker locates available domain names for technology enterprises and startups. With a strong emphasis on providing brand names that will dazzle your colleagues and prospects, our name checker suggests names available for any domain. You can use our free tool to check a websites status or search it in the WHOis database.
Learn how to choose a perfect name in any top-level domain here!
What is the distinction between the several top-level domains? How do you decide which one is the best? Because most webmasters are looking to buy a .com domain for their websites, the pricing is more expensive, or it has already been purchased. You can, however, select from several TLDs to discover the one that is most relevant to your needs. For instance, you could choose .club for your childs sports team or .ca for your Canadian business. All website extensions are considered the same way for SEO purposes. Google will show no favoritism toward the.com TLD.
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Placing A Domain Name Bid
Sometimes the domain you want will already be owned by someone else. If the domain isnt being used for an existing website or application, then you can usually get in touch with the owner and place a bid on the domain.
For example, heres the website of a domain name that someone else owns. You have the option to reach out and purchase the domain.
Keep in mind that the owner might not always respond, or they might want more than youre willing to spend. Generally, when you place a bid youll be spending a couple of hundred bucks at the very minimum. Sometimes these domains will run up into multiple thousands of dollars.
For example, take a look at some of these domains offered on Sedo.
Overall, the price of domains will go up the simpler they are. Youd be hard pressed to find a single word domain of a dictionary word for less than a few grand.
If youre placing a bid on a domain name, expect a little negotiation back and forth until you land on the selling price.
What To Do If A Domain Name Isnt Available
Lets say youve found the perfect domain name, but when you run it through a domain name checker, it comes up as unavailable. This doesnt mean that your search should end there.
In some cases, you might be able to place a bid on the domain or even pick up a different domain name extension.
Here are these two options in a little more depth:
Also Check: Io Domain Name Meaning
Recommended Reading: How To Make An Email From Your Domain
Migrate Your Site To The New Domain
Once youve secured ownership of the domain in question, youll want to migrate your existing site to that domain name.
If you build your website on a platform like Shopify, you can migrate to or from pretty much any online site builder. There are several options for migrating a site to Shopify, each being a relatively simple process.
Learn more: Get the features you need to grow your businessand the support to switch smoothly with Shopify website migration.
What Is Domain Privacy And Do I Need It
Domain privacy and security is as important to us as it is to you. Without domain privacy, your private and sensitive information may be collected and displayed in ICANN’s WHOIS database when you register your domain. Domain privacy ensures that these details are hidden from the public view. Our Domain Privacy + Protection package will make ICANN display our contact information in lieu of yours.
Recommended Reading: How Do I Move My Email Domain To Google
Short Or Long They Will Go After It
Take Time Warner Cable for example. They own TimeWarnerCable.com but at the same time, they bought twc.com which redirects to TimeWarnerCable.com. Coca-Cola, owns coke.com, and Volkswagen owns vw.com Neat right? If the brand has a long name, they own the long domain, and they also own the abbreviation. On the other hand, if the companys name or should I say the brand is really short like HP, UPS, Nike, then again they own the .com and in most cases, the short domain opens the website.
Why is shortness an issue? Read here We are out of 4 letter .com domains.
Protip. WordPress, which is not a top 100 brand, owns wp.com.
What Does Make Offer Mean In Domain Name Search Results
New domain extensions like .CLUB, .XYZ and .NINJA can cost as low as USD $14.99 while others including .ATTORNEY, .LAW and .CONSULTING can be priced a little bit higher. The varying prices are affected by the domain registry or domain operator of the extension.
You might also encounter domain names marked as Premium. These Premium domains are designated by the gTLDs registry and you’ll frequently see one-word and generic names marked as such.
For new domain extensions that don’t have any pricing information included, this simply means that the domain has not been assigned to an operator or the domain operator has not released information about it yet. When the domain becomes available and as we receive more information about it, we will update the domain’s pricing and inform you about it.
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Acquiring An Existing Domain Name
In some cases, the name you want may already be taken, but you can still acquire it. Existing domain names become available for purchase for a variety of reasons. Some may have been purchased as original names for websites that were never developed or were abandoned when a business closed or the user simply stopped maintaining the site. Others become available for sale because of a practice called cybersquatting, in which speculators create or buy up large numbers of available domain names and then sell them on marketplace and auction sites for high prices.
Even if a name is being used on an active website, you still may be able to buy it directly from its original owner. Although it could take some detective work, you might be able to track down a domains registered owner through the sites contact information or its WHOIS data and negotiate a sale. Buying an active domain can be helpful if the site attached to the domain name already has content and search engine traffic related to your business or niche.
Your domain name is the anchor of your brands online identity, and its an essential component of a self-hosted site that is under your control. Choosing a domain name and making sure its exclusively yours is the key first step toward creating a permanent online home for your business or service. Once you find the perfect name for your website, its time to register your domain!
Machielle Thomas|Content Manager
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Why Buy A Domain With Godaddy
- GoDaddy is the world’s largest domain registrar, and 21+ million customers trust us with 84+ million domains.
- Domains include free privacy protection forever.**
- 24/7 phone and chat support. Talk to a real person in your preferred language.
- Simple domain set up. You dont need any technical skills.
- Easily find available domains from over 500 domain extensions.
- Up to 100 subdomains to create a custom web address.
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Read Also: How To Get A Free Wix Domain
What Criteria Must A Domain Name Meet
A domain name must be available if you want to register it. You can check the availability on our site. If the domain name you had in mind is no longer available exactly as you imagined it , you can pick one of the other extensions, or slightly change the spelling .The domain name itself should also consist of minimum 2 and maximum 63 characters, which can be letters, numbers and the minus sign. The minus sign can only be used between two letters or numbers, which means it cannot be used as first or last character of the domain name.Recently, it has been decided to allow accented letters in domain names with the .be ccTLD . The following characters are not allowed:
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