Domain Registrars

What is a domain name registrar?

A domain name registrar is a company that handles the reservation of domain names (more on that below) as well as the assignment of IP addresses to those domain names. Domain name registrars must be accredited by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), a non-profit organization responsible for managing domain names.

Domain names make it easier to visit websites without having to memorize long strings of numbers called IP addresses. For example Amazon's domain name is amazon.com and their IP address is 176.32.103.205. All domain name records are stored in a database called registry.

A domain name registrar is given permission by ICANN to make changes to your domain name's information in the database (such as assigning IP addresses) on your behalf. It is the domain name registrar who provides you with the user interface to make those changes using your web browser.


What does it mean to "own" a domain name?

Although people often speak of buying and selling domain names, the truth is that registries own all the registered and unregistered domain names outright and they merely offer you the opportunity to reserve them for a limited amount of time.

The maximum reservation period for a domain name is ten years, but you can hold onto domain names for longer than that, as registrars permit renewing reservations indefinitely.


What registrar should I choose?

The registrar industry is full of companies that offer large discounts on initial domain transfers only to surprise you with inflated renewal costs later. To avoid this, we wholeheartedly recommend Cloudflare to our customers, a company known for its ethical practices and transparent pricing.


How do domain transfers work?

A domain transfer refers to the process of changing the designated registrant of a domain name. Once you purchase a domain name on Zlipa, we will reach out to you immediately. Once we confirm the transfer details with you, we will initiate the domain transfer and within a few hours the domain will be yours to use.