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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How Do You Find Out Who Owns A Domain Name
Now, were ready to move into the primary focus of this article. Lets discover how to find the owner of a domain name. Fortunately, its not very hard to do. By using just one resource, you should be able to see all the information and details that you need.
The domain name registration information has been kept very transparent. Its open access, and within just a few clicks youll be able to discover who the registered owner is.
The tool that youre going to use is whois.net.
Youll see who the registrar is, how to contact them both by phone and email and when the domain was created. Youll also be able to check when the domain will expire and when it was last updated.
Using this information, youll be able to get an idea of whether the domain name may be for sale. If the owner has had a domain name for an extended period, they may be unwilling to sell it to you unless you make it worth their while.
What Steps Can I Take To Ensure My Domain Privacy Is Protected
Some Registrars offer privacy protection services that allow their customers to mask their actual contact details in the Whois search result in order to prevent their private contact information falling into the hands of spammers and scammers. Get in touch with your Registrar to learn more about your options.
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Other Methods For Searching The Ownership Of A Domain Name
If you have tried the WHOIS database method to find the domain ownership but fails to find the desired information then there many other methods are also available through which you can look up a domain owner.
- Search Google for Domain Name and contact: You can check the domain name by searching for it on Google. If the domain name owner had a public registration record then anyone may have achieved it
- Check the About Us, and Contact Us of the website: You may find the details of the website owner on its Contact us and About us page.
- Social Media: Find social media accounts by using the same name. You may also lookup the domain owner by searching it on social media. Many domain name owners use their domain names as its username.
However, if the owner has registered for domain privacy than it is quite difficult to find the ownership information.
Further Details On A Domain Name Can Be Helpful
On your mission to find out who the owner of a site is, you could also discover the expiration date for it. If youre interested in buying that domain, then youll be able to take action before the expiry date. You can contact the owner to ask about whether its for sale and if so, whether you can place a bid.
In addition to looking up owners of other domain names, you can check what information there is about your own. Of course, you know that you own it, but youll want to ensure that youre happy with the other information attached to the site such as your contact details. It will also serve as a reminder of when your expiration date is so that you can extend it.
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Using Network Solutions To Locate A Domain Domain Lookup And Whois
With over 7 million domain names registered, Network Solutions is one of the worlds largest domain name registrars. This service allows you to register a large number of popular domain extensions.
They also provide nearly everything youll need to get your WordPress small business website up and running, such as web hosting, security tools, and SEO services, among other things.
The WHOIS lookup and domain lookup tools can help you figure out who owns a domain name.
Simply type in the domain youre looking for and hit Search.
The tool will then show you any domain registration information that is available.
Only if the domain is registered with Network Solutions will detailed WHOIS information be displayed.
Network Solutions, on the other hand, offers a one-of-a-kind add-on service that allows you to buy a domain name without revealing your identity.
If you decide to use this service, simply click the Backorder button, pay a deposit, and their team will begin working on your order.
This is a great way to buy a domain name from an owner without having to do all of the legwork.
Note: If youre buying a new domain name, use our Network Solutions coupon code to save 25% on your purchase.
What If The Whois Information Is Hidden
With the recent introduction of new GDPR privacy legislation in the UK and Europe, many domain registrars are now hiding the personal information of domain name owners, unless they have expressly opted in to allow it to be published. This presents a problem for anyone looking to contact the owner or find out who is in control of the domain name or website.
There is a last possible solution which may reveal contact details or who owns a website or domain. Its called The Wayback Machine and is an unthinkably large historic library of websites. Using this tool, if youre lucky, you can view an old version of the website. This is often useful if your domain name has expired or youve lost your website, but in this case will allow you to scan through the pages to find a contact name, address or telephone number. You may notice that images are not working and the website looks very broken, but this shouldnt hinder efforts to find a contact page for example.
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Why Find Out Who Owns A Domain Name
Before you start on your mission to find owners of domain names, lets answer a question or two. Lets also find out more about the body behind domain name registration.
Our initial questions are:
- Why do you need to find out who the owner is?
- What do you hope to get from finding out who they are?
Surprisingly, knowing who owns a domain or website can be very beneficial. For example, people often sell domains, and you may wish to buy one that you come across. By finding out who the owner is, you will be in a position of being able to contact them to inquire if its for sale.
Many of our clients have a brand name in mind or are already established as a business and therefore want the website that matches their brand name. In some cases, its possible to buy a domain name from the owner, especially if its recently been registered.
How Is Whois Changing
In light of the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, coming into force within the European Union in May 2018, many Registries and Registrars that operate within that region, or globally, are required to gain Registrant’s consent before disclosing Personally Identifiable Information to any third parties or the public. As a result of the implementation of the GDRP, much of the data historically found within WHOIS will no longer be included or be redacted. The absence of this information has a trickle-down effect throughout the domain industry, affecting WHOIS data output for domain names and Registrants that do not have an immediate or obvious nexus to the European Union
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A Paid Tool For Tougher To Find Info: Domainiq
Whether youve hit a brick wall, or youre simply happy to pay to take a shortcut, or this is a problem you hit regularly & the time saving and extra info is worth it, our favourite paid domain hunting tool is DomainIQ.
DomainIQ is a tool from Intelium Corp .
DomainIQ offers a huge range of features aimed at helping you to find out who owns a particular domain, or which domains a particular person owns.
Heres an example of two of the primary features of the tool. Firstly, the core overview report for a domain :
You can also see there at the top, the tabs Portfolio, Whois , Whois History , and Related Domains.
Whois History is perhaps the most useful of those. Heres an example:
Obviously the example weve used is Samsung, but in the case of a privately owned domain this can be extremely useful for finding out who owned the domain in the past, or simply for searching back prior to a domain falling under a privacy protection system.
Aside from the above, the core set of features is as follows:
Most of these features are available with every level of access, but with limitations around how frequently you can use them:
Outside of these core features, there are also many others. For example, the Snapshot History tool has a database of historical snapshots for most websites over a certain size. This is sometimes useful for seeing older versions of sites, from which you can sometimes get contact info:
Find A Domain Using Godaddys Whois Domain Lookup
With over 77 million domain names under management, GoDaddy is one of the worlds oldest and largest domain name registrars. They have affordable prices and a large selection of domain name extensions.
To find out who owns a domain name, use the GoDaddy WHOIS Database tool. It functions similarly to the previous tools.
Enter the domain name into the WHOIS database lookup tool, and the tool will return the required domain name details.
Youll notice that the results are similar to those obtained using the previous tools.
Trying the domain name search with multiple tools, on the other hand, can be beneficial. You can get more precise information if the domain is hosted by a specific registrar.
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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.
Go Around The Whois Protection
Some domain owners decide to hide their information by using third-party protection services, such as WhoisGuard. Such services use methods to protect the privacy of their clients by providing their own contact details instead.
The best way to go around this kind of privacy protection is to contact the third-party company and ask them to pass on the email to the owner. While there are no guarantees that this method will work, it will increase your chances.
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Search For The Domain Name Youre Interested In
Now, simply type in the domain name you want to find out more information about into the search bar and press enter. Whenever a domain owner decides to register the domain, theyre required to include information such as their name, address, email, and phone number. A Whois lookup can also tell you which registrar the domain is at, when it was registered, when it could potentially expire, and more.
Why Is Whois Important And Who Can Use It
The Whois database makes it easy to find a website owner. This may be useful if you need to contact the domain name holder, or if youre a legal team wanting to clarify ownership for a trademark dispute.
Domain buyers and sellers can also benefit by using Whois to view site ownership details fast, which helps the domain purchasing process go smoothly.
If youre interested in acquiring a domain and want to find out if its already been registered, you can use our Whois search tool to check its availability.
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Use The Domaincom Whois Lookup Tool To Find A Domain
One of the most well-known domain registrars is Domain.com. It allows you to register all TLDs and dozens of top country code top-level domains .
Private registration, domain name management, email accounts, easy transfers, and even web hosting are all features youd expect from a top domain name registrar.
The WHOIS lookup tool is a particularly useful feature they provide. This will look up any available domain name information in the public WHOIS database.
To use this tool, go to Domain.com and type in the domain name in the WHOIS lookup box.
The tool will then show you the available WHOIS results.
It will display details such as the domain name registrar, who possesses the domain, when it has been registered, and also any contact information that is available.
The email address will appear in the Registrant Email field if it is available.
You can also try contacting the domain name owner through the domain name registrar .
Note: If youre going to use Domain.com to register a new domain name, make sure to use our Domain.com coupon code to save 25% on your purchase.