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.
How Much Domain Names Cost
There are two options when it comes to getting your domain name:
Regardless of which option you go with, youll pay an annual registration fee of $7$15/year on average. If you are acquiring the name on top of that, youll pay an additional acquisition price.
The cost of acquiring a domain name varies widely: You can easily spend 45 figures on a name. In some cases you can find a good one for hundreds of dollars. Some domain names arent for sale at all, while others have sold for millions of dollars. Recently, someone bought CoolQuotesCollection.com for $2,500 and Boot.com for $70,000.
Unless you choose a more creative route, that is. See, you can get a domain name completely for free by choosing to host your site on Bluehost. This is a little bit easier for folks starting from scratchpart of getting a site up and running is choosing a domain, finding a hosting provider, and building a site. If youre in this boat, this is the way to take care of two of those three in one fell swoop.
Already committed to a hosting provider? Thats okay, theres still a way to save on your domain if youre still considering site builders.
Paying for a premium plan from Squarespace, Wix, or most of our other top-recommended website builders will open you up to a great deal more useful features.
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Why Look Up A Domain Owner
There are various reasons why someone would wish to check the owner of a domain name. Its usually because the owner has access to the domain and website details that no one else has.
Domain owners also do their searches to ensure that their websites are appropriately displayed online.
Other reasons to look up a domain owner include:
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Finding A Domain Owner
If you find a sites domain name, there are a couple of approaches to find the personality of the owner. As a rule, the simplest method to discover a domain name owner is via looking WHOIS databases. This is a database that keeps information on different domains and will help to find the owner. They have been functioning since 1998 and have kept a record of all the domain names, internet namespaces, and websites.
Looking into a domain through WHOIS will make your search easier. Run through the WHOIS search by putting in the domain name, and it will provide you information about the owner. Youll get the domains past ownership details, current owners name, his/her contact information, and the expiration date of the domain. Some of the WHOIS databases will go further and will show you information regarding the performance and traffic of the domain.
If the WHOIS database restricts you from looking into the owners details. You can still find ways to reach the owner. Usually, there is a feature at the top or bottom of every website that says Contact Details or something like that. Use that feature to reach out to the owner.
To conclude, whatever your purpose is to find a domain owner, you can find the person with a little effort. Hope our article helps you to find the owner of the domain youre interested in.
Why Should Registrants Still Utilize Whois Privacy Services
The WHOIS database lists information about each domain registration online and is open to the public. In regards to Registrant information, the amount that is displayed publicly may differ based on a number of factors, including:
- The specific domain extension
- The type of Registrant used for the registration
This means that malicious entities are still able to quickly access this public directory and survey for potential pieces of information to exploits. By replacing your information through a privacy service, your information is effectively blocked from public access.
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How Can You Protect Your Information
To combat the negative things that can happen when your private information is published, registrars usually offer an optional WHOIS privacy service. Such services allow the registrar to act as a proxy of the registrant. They publish the proxy contact information on the WHOIS directory, and keep the registrants information private.
Ideally, you should purchase this kind of service when you register your domain. This prevents the information from getting indexed or cached by WHOIS look-up websites and search engines. However, it can be purchased any time after the domain is registered. The service GoDaddy offers is called Private Registration.
Its also important to note that not every type of domain is eligible for this privacy service. Some domain extensions dont allow registrants to use a proxy. Others provide their own privacy service. A good rule of thumb is if privacy isnt offered when you purchase the domain, it will either not allow a proxy or will have an alternative service.
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Why Are Domain Names Important
Now that you know how to find the owner of a domain name, you should know why domain names are essential in the first place.
Domain names are used to help people find and categorize websites.
However, domain names may mean the difference between a successful online presence and one that struggles to get off the ground for businesses and individuals.
Your business or personal website gains credibility when you own a domain name. There is a good reason why many people are wary of unfamiliar websites on the internet.
Having a domain name only for your company gives your company more credibility than it would otherwise have.
When a companys domain name is related to the services it offers, its easier for internet users to find them, even if theyve never heard of them.
People who use a search engine to look for services or goods are more likely to be directed to the companys website, especially if that websites content has been optimized for search engines.
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Different Motivations To Look Into A Domain Owner
Make a Buy:
Most frequently, an individual looking into the owner of a domain is keen on buying that domain name. There are several million that are enlisted. And for some people and businesses, their optimal site has just been asserted by another person.
Some of the time, the way toward buying a previous site is as basic as reaching the domain owner and striking an arrangement. Frequently, its significantly more entangled. Yet everything relies upon the owner of the domain, any plans they may have for the site, and their readiness to arrange.
Get Some Information about Items or Administrations:
Sometimes, a site probably wont give the entirety of the vital data identified with its items or administrations. In cases like these, the owner of the domain might have the option to fill in the holes or answer addresses that probably wont be replied on the site.
Confirm Realness:
Before directing business through a site, its critical to ensure that the site is actually what it professes to be. The web is a hotbed of deception, and its shockingly simple for sites to distort themselves, either purposefully or otherwise. Researching on the domain owner can help check that a site is authentic, which can offer true serenity to parties looking to take part in money related exchanges. Likewise, affirming the authenticity of a site can make it simpler to believe whatever data might be advertised.
Report a Specialized Issue:
Affirm Your Data:
Try A New Domain Name
Even if you follow all of these steps, the person who owns that domain may refuse to sell or will only accept a higher price than you can afford.
If thats the case, youre far from the first person to have settled with a name thats not your first choice. Consider other domain name extensionsif the .com domain is already taken, .net or .co may still be available.
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Who Legally Owns A Domain
Searching for a domains owner can turn up multiple names provided as contacts for functions such as technical support, administration, and billing. But, the legal owner of a website is the registrantthe person or entity in whose name the domain has been registered with a dedicated domain registrar or hosting provider. As long as registration fees are kept up to date, that owner retains full rights to the domain and has sole control over selling it at any time, whether or not the domain is nearing expiration.
Why Check Owner Information Of Domain
Before going on a quest for knowing how to find out who owns a private domain, it is essential to ask yourself why you wish to do this. What possible benefits can you gain from learning this information?
It can be beneficial even for several reasons. For example, domains are still up for sale, so you may want to purchase an existing domain name. In this case, you can find all their contact information by looking up who owns this website. Many people want to buy a domain name when they create a new website or brand and want a specific character to match perfectly with the site.
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After that, you get to see when the domain expires too. Again, if you want to buy one, this is good because you can see when it needs to be replaced and contact the owner at the optimal time to request a bid.
In addition, using a tool to look up who owns domain name, can also help with your websites. Of course, if you own a domain, you know who owns this website already thats obvious. However, you can obtain tons of more details when you look up this to cross-check it with your own. This includes the owner registration information you need to make sure is correct. If they are not, you should adjust them so that everything is as it should be, so you will not run into any problems. Plus, you will see when your domain expires, allowing you to re-buy it when the time is right.
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Who Is My Email Provider
To find out, you should do a DNS lookup and look at the MX record. The MX record tells you where the email portion of your domain is handled. Do a search on the domain listed there to find out who your email provider is.
Since the company hosting your website may or may not be hosting your email, it might be a little confusing to track down who an email host / provider really is. Add to that these numerous spam/junk email cleaning services out there, who temporarily get your email to clean it up and then send it back to you and figuring out who an email host is can be downright confusing.
This article gives some tips and ways to find out where an email address is hosted. Im giving you the non-geek ways first and then the geek ways. Both get you about the same results so that you know where your domain names email is hosted.
Hosting Checker: The Server Details
The first part of the hosting checker report tells you who hosts this site or what is your hosting company. The second tab answers the question Where is this site hosted?. There you will find its IP address, sites webserver location , and name of the organization managing it.
You might wonder why the server location is in the host lookup tool report. The proximity of the webserver is essential as it influences the loading speed. The closer the webserver is to the target audience the faster the data will transfer. Some web host providers even charge extra for choosing a specific webserver location. To check where a specific IP address is, try our Free IP Checker.
If you want to save the content of any tab of our host checker, you can do it in one click. Copy it to a clipboard to paste elsewhere, download it as a pdf-file, or share it on social media.
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Visit The Domain Name
Your first port of call when trying to find out who owns a domain name should be the domain name itself.
Type the domain name into your browser and see what happens. Youll either find a website, a holding page or an error message.
If theres a website, you can look through its various pages to try and find a domain name. Look for an About me/us page, a Contact me/us page, any other kind of contact form, or an email address. There may also be contact details in the websites footer.
A holding page may include some sort of contact information and will sometimes even explicitly state that the domain is for sale.
An error message may mean that there is a website on that URL, but it is currently unavailable, or that the domain name isnt being used.
Some error messages may include contact details, but if the one youre seeing doesnt youll need to try another method to find out who owns a domain name.
How To Find The Owner Of Your Ideal Domain
The right domain name enhances your visibility and promotes your brand, but that perfect name may belong to someone elseand locating that person can be the first step toward securing the domain for your own use. Checking ownership of a domain can help keep your own domain secure and up to date, as well. With the help of online search tools such as WHOIS and a little detective work, its possible to find any domains legal owneror to protect your own domains essential information.
Domain.com has the tools you need to continue building your business into a success.
Kristin Crabb
Content Marketing Strategist working in the digital marketing industry. Skilled in SEO-focused content creation, keyword research and competitive analysis, interactive content, web content optimization, and landing page creation.
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Employ The Services Of A Domain Broker
If you didnt get the domain owners contact info, or if you did but would still want some help with the process of making a bid, consider hiring a domain broker.
Suppose youre inexperienced at buying a domain name. In that case, they can help you figure out a realistic amount to bid, discover the suitable person to contact, and ensure the purchasing process goes through the proper phases to satisfy everyone at the end.
How Can I Hide My Remaining Public Contact Details From The Whois Database
For Canadians with a .CA domain name, the?Canadian Internet Registration Authority ?automatically provides domain privacy be default. However, non .CA domain names will need to purchase an additional service called a Domain Privacy service. Once purchased, all Registrant information on the WHOIS database is replaced by proxy contact information. In most cases, this information belongs to the operating registrar such as Webnames.ca.
While the details list a registrar or proxy contact information, the true owner of a domain name is still the original registrant.
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How To Hide Your Information From Whois Lookups
Online privacy is incredibly important and some people do not want their contact details publicly available on the internet. For anyone who does not want to sell their domain or be contacted by those browsing the Whois directory, we highly recommend purchasing Advanced Security for all of your domains, which includes Whois Privacy, Domain Lock Plus, and a free SSL certificate. It masks your contact information and prevents spammers and telemarketers from using your information for no good.
What To Do If The Domain Registration Information Is Hidden
Sometimes, domain name owners can keep their information hidden or private. This private registration replaces the owners contact information with the registrars info.
You can contact the registrar with whom the domain name is registered.
Look for contact details on the domain registrars website .
Give them a call or send them an email describing the domain youre interested in purchasing and requesting that they forward your information to the owner.
The registrar will have the owners contact information on file and let them know that you want to buy their domain. They wont break the owners privacy.
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Who Owns Your Domain Name
by Richard Keyt, Domain Name Law attorney
Are you sure you own your domain name? Chances are that neither you nor anybody in your company has ever checked to see who actually owns your domain name. It is very common for domain names to be owed by a company employee, a web site designer or an internet service provider. The initial owner of a domain name is the person or entity that is listed as the registrant on the application for the domain name submitted to the domain name registrar.
Using the internet, it is very easy to determine who actually owns a domain name. A domain name is owned by or licensed to the person or entity shown as the registrant on the whois database of the registrar. The registrar is the name given to an entity that is authorized by ICANN to issue domain names to the public. The first and most well known registrar is Network Solutions, Inc. A whois database is a database maintained by all registrars that lists pertinent information about all domain names issued by the registrar. Each registrars Whois database may be searched online.
To check the ownership of a domain name, go to the Whois database of either Network Solutions or Better-Whois.com. Simply type in the name of the domain name and the top level domain name such as .com, .net, .org, .biz, .info or .name and click the search button. If the domain name is in the Whois database, the search results will display the following pertinent information about the domain name: