A domain name registrar is an entity that has been approved by the relevant registry to register domain names on your behalf.
What is domain name registrars ? DNRs (domain name registrars, not “do not resuscitate”!) is an entity that is legally allowed to sell TLDs (top level domains) to the public. They are also able to reserve TLD names for the future. Once you register your domain name with a DNR, no one else can use that same name until you surrender it. A TLD is the suffix of a domain such as .org, .net or .com.
So let’s say you have a great idea or a great product and want to create a website that has its own domain. How do you find cheap domain name registrars? Well, you don’t really have to deal directly with a DNR but can deal with your web hosting provider. You can choose and register your domain name as part of the web hosting package. You may actually save money this way, avoiding the transfer fee that is often charged when the DNR allows your web hosting service access to the domain name that you’ve chosen.
It’s not necessarily expensive to register a domain name. Even the cheapest domain name registrars are fairly easy to find and deal with. Choose a name first, the DNR will decide which suffix you get. You may get .biz if you’re a business, .org if you’re a non-profit. You have to give info that will be avail through the WHOIS database so that people can see who the name is registered to. If you don’t want to give such information you can find a registrar that will act as your proxy, providing their information instead of your own for a small fee.
Be sure you own the domain name. Some registrars’ terms and conditions allow them to keep control of the domains that they register. Also be sure you have the option to transfer your domain to another registrar is you should want to. Look for the fees charged, too. Top domain name registrars often have very reasonable fees.
It’ll take a few hours to a few days to see your domain online. While you’re waiting you can park it on a page that announces it is “under construction”, a service that many registrars offer for a small fee. There are a lot of small fees here, aren’t there? Once your domain name is “live” you can choose a web host by transferring the name to the one your chose or the registrar might offer web hosting for—you guessed it!—a fee.
Legit are accredited by ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. ICANN is a private, not for profit corporation that gives out IP addresses and manages the DNS, or domain name system. The DNS is what lets you go to a website by typing in its name instead of its IP address. Be sure that any top domain name registrars you consider are members in good standing with ICANN.