How To Find Out Who Actually Owns A Domain Name
Do you want to find out who actually owns a domain name?
Looking up who owns a domain can help you find the owners contact information, so you can purchase the domain name.
In this article, well show you how you can find out who actually owns a domain name, step by step.
Why Find Out Who Owns a Domain Name?
Finding out who owns a domain name can tell you valuable information about the domain name owner.
Usually, this information will include an email address and other contact information, so you can get in touch to purchase the domain name.
It also shows you useful domain name information, like the last time it was registered, how many owners the domain has had, and more.
If you find that multiple people have owned a specific domain name, then this increases chances of the domain being used for spam.
When youre creating a WordPress website, one of the biggest decisions youll make is choosing the perfect business name and matching domain.
If youve found a great domain, but its already registered, then youll want to reach out to the owner to see if theyre willing to sell it to you.
There are multiple ways you can find out who owns a domain name. Well show you the 3 easiest ways to quickly find out the owner of a domain name.
Method 1: Search for a Domain With Domain.com WHOIS Lookup Tool
Domain.com is one of the most popular domain name registrars. It lets you register all top-level domain name extensions and dozens of top country code top-level domains .
Contact The Domain Registrar
Almost any respectable domain registrar offers WHOIS protection which keeps the domain owners information from being listed on the WHOIS directory. Since this add-on only costs a few bucks more, most domain owners pick it, making it impossible to get their contact information from the WHOIS directory.
Despite this misfortune, however, not all options are exhausted. The next thing you should do is contact the domain registrar. If their site is not listed on the WHOIS directory, simply Google its name and you should find it quite easily.
Although the domain registrar will not provide you with the owners contact information, you can still write them an email letting them know the domain you are interested in buying. They can pass your contact info onto the domain owner without violating any privacy concerns.
What Do I Do If My Name Is Taken
Lets look at a few hacks or ways to come up with great social media handles even if your desired name is taken.
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How To Determine Who Owns A Domain Name
Naeem MobasharDecember 28, 2010 | Updated: December 9, 201570
The International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is the organization that authorizes registrars to issue or assign domain names to public. A registrant is the person or entity who is considered to be the domain name owner authorized to make or request for changes to be made in vital information related to domain name. It is, therefore, critically important to know the owner registrant of a domain name and also the person or entity having administrative, billing and technical rights related to domain.
Who Is The Owner Of A Domain
When searching for a domains owner, multiple individuals contacts can surface as representatives for technical support, billing, and administration. The complete legal owner, however, is the registrant .
As long as the registration fees are paid on time, this is the person who had the full rights to the domain and full control over selling it if he or she wishes to.
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Does The Whois Lookup Support Com Domains
Yes, there is .com domain Whois support. Just like with other domain extensions, you can look up who owns a .com domain with WHOIS or whether certain .com domains are available. However, it should be noted that the information available during this .com domain lookup will depend on where the domain is registered. The Whois database is not an independent venture, but deals with multiple registrars that all contribute information.
These registrars manage different domain extension categories. Domain extensions are broken down into several categories: generic top-level domains , new top-level domains and country code top-level domains . The domain extension .com is a gTLD domain and is the most common gTLD, others include .org and .net. gTLDs are international domains and the information on these domains is handled by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers . However, due to GDPR only a limited amount of information is made available in the .com domain Whois lookup search results.
Make Sure The Domain Is Registered
You wont know for sure if the domain youre interested in is registered until you check for yourself. The easiest way to check is to search for the domain name at a registrar like Name.com. That way, if the domain is available, or being resold as Premium Domain, you can easily purchase it directly from the registrar. If the domain is listed as unavailable, it is likely already registered and youll need to turn elsewhere for more details.
But before you resort to trying to buy a domain that is already registered , its worth looking into alternative options for domain names. You might find that by using a different or new domain extension, you can get the SLD you want for a fraction of the price.
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How To Find The Owner Of A Website
If you want to know how to find the owner of a domain, start with the website. The website itself can be a useful source of information.
If the domain has been registered, but the website is not live yet, skip to step two and look at the domain registration history.
However, if there is a website, here are some places to look to find a website owner:
- Contact us page
- Website footer
- Privacy policy
Depending on the website owner, they may make their contact information accessible. Professional resume websites often have contact information, and so do sales websites.
However, if the owner of the website doesnt list any contact information on the contact us or about page, there are a couple of other places you can look.
First, scroll down to the website footer. This is where you can find out who owns the copyright, and sometimes you can find out which agency created the website. Either of these can point you in the direction of the website owner.
Finally, you can check the privacy policy page. If a website collects any user information, its legally required to have a privacy policy.
How does the privacy policy page help you?
The privacy policy needs to include contact information for privacy issues. It often includes the email address or physical address of the individual who owns the websites data.
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Whys It Necessary To Have A Whois Database
The ability to find domain info quickly and accurately is important for a couple main reasons: 1. A WHOIS check is essential for people in the business of buying and selling domains. These individuals need a method of communication for their transactions. A WHOIS search will provide one or more methods for reaching the current owner of a web address. 2. The WHOIS database is a way to maintain accountability for people who operate online. For example, if you felt someone was using your trademarks on their website, the WHOIS database provides a number of ways to resolve that dispute.
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Why Search For A Domain Owner
The most obvious reason to locate a domain owner is to try to purchase the domain, but that isnt the only one. If a site claims to be a legitimate one owned by a major corporation but appears suspicious, checking its ownership is a way to verify its authenticity. Likewise, if a website has no contact information on its homepage or a contact page, a visitor could track down its owners in order to contact them with questions about the sites products or servicesor to report a technical problem.
Another reason to check domain ownership information is to safeguard the security of your own site against incorrect or incomplete contact information. Looking up the domain ownership records on an existing site allows owners to ensure that their information is correct and that nothing has been changed without permission. Searches for domain ownership can be accomplished through public WHOIS databases, website searches, and even email, depending on the reasons for conducting the search.
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Some More Registrant Information Domain Server Information Domain Name Record Information
WHOIS performs the required task efficiently, however, at the same time it should be noted that the information available may be exploited or utilized for spam and other purposes. You may end up receiving emails and unnecessary information from different resources and start filling up your inbox. To get rid of this problem, there are certain tools to help protect your privacy.
As in the case of www.DomainSherpa.com, we are able to see only limited information about the actual owner as the information is camouflaged through a privacy protection service called domain name privacy. Many domain name registrars offer domain privacy to mask the actual information of the domain owner. The privacy feature helps display third party information to safeguard your personal information from publically available information. Personal information is collected by the registrar and is accessible only on request by following certain privacy rules and regulations.
Lookup Domain Name Registration Online
Need the details of a .au domain? We provide a simple, easy-access search tool for our customers and visitors. Using this tool, you can search the details of all Australian domain names. Simply type the name of the domain you want to check with the .com.au domain extension and click search to find out the owner and their best contact email.
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Now That Ive Found The Domain Owner What Do I Do
Finding out who owns the domain is only the first part of the process. You now need to actually negotiate the selling conditions.
The good news is that you can just hire someone to do the negotiation for you. While this may seem like it is adding to the total price you are paying, it can actually save you quite a bit.
For example, you can use Sedo to handle the entire process for you. This includes domain appraisal, broker services, and transfers.
Of course, if you are confident in your abilities as a negotiator, you might just want to handle it yourself.
How To Find Out Who The Domain Owner Is
Youve spent time brainstorming domain names. Youve tried different domain suggestion tools. And youve finally figured out the perfect name.
But when you go to register the domain name youre set on, you find that someone has already claimed it. What a disappointment.
Before you give up on that perfect name and start the whole process again from scratch, know there might still be hope.
Registered domain names are sometimes still availableif you know how to find the owner.
People invest in domain names for a number of different reasons. Sometimes, its to start their own website at that domain. Sometimes its purely for investment purposes. And in a few cases, it may be for a website idea that either never comes to fruition, or that falls off the owners radar over time.
If the website youre interested in isnt being actively used and updated, then the owner may be happy to hear from an interested buyer. And even if the owner is clearly using the domain name right now, if youre willing to spend enough to make a sale worth it to them you may still have a chance.
In both cases, you should anticipate spending more for the domain name than if you went with something no one else owns yet. But if youre really set on that domain name, its worth trying your chances.
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Find Out ‘who Is’ Behind A Website
Edited by Doug Collins, VC, Alma, Inukshuk and 10 others
4 Parts:
Have you ever wanted to find out who was really behind a website? Maybe a name that you are considering for your new website is already taken, and you’re interested in contacting the owner of the domain to see if they are willing to sell it. Perhaps you think the name of the website that you’re on doesn’t seem quite right, and you want to check to see if it really is owned by that big corporation that you think you’re dealing with, and not some phishing scammer in his basement. Whatever your reason, the internet has a system that will show you who owns a domain and how to contact them. This system is called WHOIS .
Of course, an open database showing who owns every site and their contact information was quickly scanned and exploited. This gave rise to the optional private or anonymous domain name registration, in which the general contact info for the registrar company is shown to the public, rather than the individual owner’s addresses. However, there are still some ways to find out more details if you know how to look. This article will cover both the basic whois lookup and more advanced techniques to see who is really behind a website.
As you go through this wiki, start a document and cut and paste the results of each step into it. You will find this useful later when you are trying to put all the clues together, assuming the whois information you find is less than helpful.