Category: Domain Names

What is a Domain Registrar?

A domain registrar is a party which sells domain names and is responsible for handling everything about domain names. It plays an important role when it comes to any domain names transactions, namely registration, renewal and transfer. A domain registrar is responsible for submitting a domain name registration to a domain registry, and to ensure the successful domain name registration by an individual or a company.

Every website comes with a domain name. Therefore, starting a new website requires registering a domain name, and a domain registrar facilitates this essential process. Read more about what is a domain name and how it works here.

What Does a Domain Registrar Do?

As mentioned above, a domain registrar helps to update the domain name record managed by a domain registry. Every domain name has its corresponding registration data to keep track of who the owner is, and this data is stored in a database. A domain registry maintains the infrastructure for the database, and a domain registrar is charged with the task of updating the registry’s database on all domain name registrations, renewals and transfers.

When a user registers for a domain name, the domain registrar has to handle the process of creating or updating the info in the database of a domain registry. As part of the process, it is also required to provide all the tools for a user to perform any domain name related actions, such as searching for a domain name, availability of the domain name, renewal or transfer and also the financial transaction with the user, as well as to help users to maintain their domain name subscription over time.

A domain registrar usually allows users to do annual renewal of domain names and encourages them to register multi-year subscription for the domain names. A domain registrar also offers back end dashboard for users to perform management actions for their domain names. They can get an update on the status of their domain names, perform renewals, check billing and make configurations such as email reminders in the dashboard.

In summary, a domain registrar plays a vital role in the process of registering, renewing or transferring domain names. The experience of dealing with a reputable one and a lousy one can vary a lot and it is recommended to always choose a reputable domain registrar. Be sure to look out for the qualities below for a reliable and trustworthy domain registrar.

The Qualities of a Reliable and Trustworthy Domain Registrar

ICANN Accredited

An important factor to consider when you are registering a domain name is to make sure the domain registrar is ICANN accredited. ICANN stands for the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, and it is the organisation in charge of regulating the domain name industry. Having this qualification is equivalent to being certified by ICANN to perform everything related to domain names transactions. An ICANN accredited domain registrar has to abide by ICANN’s prescribed rules and regulations to protect domain name buyers’ best interests. ICANN accredited is a sign of a trustworthy domain registrar.

Transparent Pricing Structure

Another factor to look out for is the pricing of the domain registrar. A quality and trustworthy domain registrar is transparent about the registration price, the transfer price and the annual renewal fee upfront. Most domain registrars will advertise a cheap first year registration price for their domain names, however users should check to be sure that they are also transparent about the transfer fee and annual renewal fee as well. A reliable and trustworthy domain registrar does not charge any hidden fees that is deliberately made unknown to users. It made sure that users are well-informed about the pricing structure before registering a domain name with them.

Full Domain Control

The next factor to look out for in a reliable and trusted domain registrar is that it allows users full control of their domains. As mentioned above in what does a domain registrar do, it usually provides users with a control panel that can let them perform management of their domains. They can easily and freely execute transactions for their domains such as renewal, transfer, forwarding, billing or any technical functions through the control panel. A good sign of a reliable and trustworthy domain registrar is it offers this benefit to its customers, giving them full domain control.

Quick and Reliable Customer Support

In addition, another factor to look out for in a reliable and trustworthy domain registrar is that it provides a strong customer support service. It ensures that support is easily available, quick and reliable. It also makes sure support can be reached through many different channels, such as live chat, email or social media, allowing customers to enjoy an easy and pleasant customer support experience anywhere online.  A reliable and friendly support team is in place to help solve any issues that might arise from their domain names. One way to distinguish a reliable and trustworthy domain registrar is to go through its customer support experience to confirm it meets all the requirements above.

Extra Value-added Services

Last but not least, another factor to be considered as a reliable and trustworthy domain registrar is to look at the extra value-added services it offers. Most of the reputable ones will usually offer these services to enhance their customers’ satisfaction. Some services that they offer include domain name privacy, security monitoring, expiry reminders, auto-renewals, email addresses, multi-year purchase option and more. A reliable and trustworthy domain registrar is serious in serving their customers and will almost always offer extra value-added services for free or at a minimal cost.

Conclusion

A domain registrar plays a crucial role in the process of registering, transferring or renewing domain names. Therefore, it is important to choose a reliable, reputable and trustworthy domain registrar. The customer experience can vary hugely, depending on their reputation and experience in the industry. To enjoy a great customer experience, make sure to select only a domain registrar that is ICANN accredited, has a transparent pricing structure, offers full domain control, has a quick and reliable customer support and offers extra value-added services.

In case you don’t know, WebNIC is a trusted domain registrar with more than 20 years of experience in the domain wholesale and reseller service. We are confident that we meet these qualities and we are also regarded as a reliable and trustworthy domain registrar in the industry. We offer a wide range of domains and are looking for more partners to join us as a domain reseller. Are you interested in joining us? Let us assist you in growing your domain business!

 

About WebNIC

WebNIC is an accredited registrar for ICANN, and various countries including Asia, Europe, America, Australasia, and Africa. With offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, Indonesia and Taiwan, we serve 4,500+ active resellers over 70 countries. To join us and become a reseller, live chat with us or email us at [email protected].

What is a Domain Name?

A domain name is an important part of a website URL. It acts like an address to a website on the Internet, just like an address to your physical house in the real world. In order to understand what is a domain name and the reason behind using it, we must first understand the concept of IP address.

The Internet is a giant network of computers connected with each other. The way to identify each device is through assigning a unique IP address to each of them. An IP address is a string of numbers separated by full stops, such as “104.20.73.209”. It acts as the address of a device on the Internet.

A website is hosted on a server (also a device connected to the Internet). Therefore, the server will have its own unique IP address. When a user uses a browser to visit a website, he/she needs to enter the IP address of the server hosting the website, so that it can establish a connection with it to load the website. However, this is not how it works as it is difficult for humans to remember a string of numbers. Furthermore, with more than 100 million of servers hosting billions of websites on the Internet, it is impossible for a human to remember millions of IP addresses.

For this reason, the domain name was introduced in order to solve this problem. It simplifies the process for users to visit their intended websites. Instead of remembering a string of numbers, it is easier to remember texts. It acts like a pointer to a specific IP address on the Internet. The below illustration shows the different parts of a website URL and where the domain name is.

How Does a Domain Name Work?

When users enter the domain name in a browser, the browser connects to the Domain Name System (DNS), a global network of domain name servers located worldwide. The DNS is like a distributed database which stores domain names and their corresponding IP addresses. The requested domain name is then matched against the data in the DNS, and translated into an IP address. The browser then establishes a connection with the resulting IP address, which will then forward the initial browser request to the server hosting the intended website. The website server will then respond to the browser request and returns data to the browser to load the website for the users. An illustration below shows the entire process of how a domain name works.

Types of Domain

Aside from the common .COM websites you see on the Internet, there are actually many other types of domain names on the Internet. The type of domain name depends on the extension used by the domain name. There are two main categories of domain names, namely the generic Top-level Domain (gTLD) and the country code Top-level Domain (ccTLD). Below is a description of each category of domain name and some examples for your understanding.

Generic Top-level Domain (gTLD)

gTLD is as the name implies, a generic domain name. It can be registered by anyone from anywhere. The most commonly known gTLD is .COM, .NET, .ORG, .BIZ, and .INFO. There are also some other restricted gTLDs, reserved for specific uses, such as .GOV for government, .EDU for education institutes or .MIL for military. gTLD is not restricted to any geographical location or country. Anyone can register a gTLD, regardless of where they are. Examples include “facebook.com”, “wikipedia.org”, “slideshare.net” etc.

In recent years, the gTLD has expanded to include many newer gTLDs introduced by ICANN since 2013. Some examples of these new gTLDs include .BLOG, .ONLINE, .SHOP, .TECH, .XYZ and many more.

Country Code Top-level Domain (ccTLD)

ccTLD is a type of domain name that is restricted to a certain country or location. It uses the country codes standard as the extension like .MY, .SG, .UK etc. Therefore, ICANN assigns every country its own extension, and each country is given the authority to operate their own extension. Some countries open their ccTLD registration to the public, while most countries establish terms and conditions to register for their extension. As a result, ccTLD is the opposite of gTLD and registering it is subject to certain terms and conditions, and the process is more time-consuming. Usually, the conditions to register a ccTLD is that the registrant must be a citizen of the specific country or the business needs to be registered with the local governing body. Examples of ccTLD include “webnic.cc”, “redd.it”, “instagr.am”, “youtu.be” etc.

If you are interested, check out this list of the most popular ccTLDs by the number of domains registered here.

If you are still unsure about the difference between these two TLDs, click the link here to read more!

A Domain Name is not a Website or a Hosting

Another thing that many people are confused with is the difference between a domain name, a website and a hosting. Many people seem to think that they mean the same thing, but they are actually not.

A website is made up of many files which contain information and contents. These files work together to ensure that the website can be viewed when opened on a browser. They are crucial for a website to work, just like the components of a machine.

Next, we need a place to store these files. The place where the files are stored is called a server. Whenever a request comes in for the website, the server will respond to the request and load the files. For this, we call it a hosting service. You are essentially buying a hosting service to store your website’s files on a server, so that they can be loaded when there is a request for your website. This is hosting.

Lastly, the server that hosts our website files will have an IP address on the Internet. As mentioned in the section explaining how domain names work, we need a domain name to direct users to know how to find our website on the Internet.

Domain name, website and hosting are not the same, but all three of them are necessary for a website to work properly. They work together to deliver a website browsing experience to users. Note that you can buy domain name and hosting separately as two different services, but then you will need to do a bit of configuration to connect them.

How Does Domain Registration Work?

The domain registration process is facilitated through a few major parties, namely ICANN, a domain registry, a domain registrar and a domain reseller.

ICANN is the organisation solely in charge of maintaining and regulating the domain industry. It maintains and coordinates each top-level domain (TLD), while also taking care of security and stability of the domain root network and its infrastructure. ICANN appoints which party is in charge of managing the domain names records registered under each Top-level Domain (TLD).

The party appointed by ICANN is what we call a domain registry. It is in charge of managing all the domain names record in a database. According to the definition of a domain registry by ICANN, a domain registry is the party responsible for accepting domain name registration requests from registrars, maintaining a database of the necessary registration data associated with domain names, and providing name servers to publish the zone file data (e.g., the list of all the domain names and their associated IP addresses) throughout the Internet.

Next, a domain registrar is a qualified party, accredited by ICANN to perform domain names transactions, namely registration, renewal and transfer. To perform these processes, a domain registrar needs to meet strict requirements established and usually has an agreement with a domain registry. It usually needs to build and maintain infrastructure to connect with a domain registry to perform domain names transactions.

Finally, domain resellers are parties who deal with end users who are interested to buy a domain name. They are affiliated or under contract with registrars to promote the registrars’ products and services to end users. They are like the sales representatives of a domain registrar. We at WebNIC are currently looking to partner with more domain resellers. If you are interested to become a reseller, contact us at [email protected]. We offer a comprehensive web service solution reseller experience.

Conclusion

We hope this article has helped you to gain a better understanding on what is a domain name and how it works. If you are interested to join the domain industry and you are looking for a domain registrar to partner with, WebNIC is the perfect choice. We are a trusted domain registrar with more than 20 years of experience in the domain wholesale and reseller service. We offer a wide range of domains to help you to become a domain reseller and grow your domain business with us. We also offer SSL certificate wholesale service, complete web security solution and digital brand management service.

About WebNIC

WebNIC is an accredited registrar for ICANN, and various countries including Asia, Europe, America, Australasia, and Africa. With offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, Indonesia and Taiwan, we serve 4,500+ active resellers over 70 countries. To join us and become a reseller, live chat with us or email us at [email protected].

.CC Domain – Register the ccTLD of Cocos (Keeling) Islands

.CC domain is the ccTLD of Cocos (Keeling) Islands, a group of islands belonging to Australia which is situated in the Indian Ocean. However, it is open to the public and anyone can register a .CC domain. It was first introduced in the year 1997 and has more than 20 years of history. It currently ranks as one of the top 50 ccTLDs in terms of the number of domains registered, totalling 674,644 registrations, according to data from DomainTools as of the date of this article.

WebNIC is the first ICANN accredited registrar in Southeast Asia to offer .CC domain to the region. As the pioneer registrar of .CC domain in Southeast Asia, WebNIC’s official website is also using webnic.cc, in order to encourage and promote the use of .CC domain. This ccTLD is managed by eNIC, a subsidiary company under the world-renowned registry, VeriSign, who also manages the .COM and .NET extensions.

The Reasons to Choose a .CC Domain Name

1. .CC domain name offers website owners an opportunity to be creative with their website domain. They have more choices on their naming, and can possibly come up with a name which excites and catches the attention of users easily. They can incorporate creativity into their business’s domain name, ensuring that their website is memorable, catchy and easy to search for. For example, .CC can stand for commercial company, call centre, consulting company etc., endless possibilities! Below are some more examples:

Carpet Cleaning, Catholic Charity, Country Club, Classic Cars, Communications Center, Community College, Computer Center, Critical Care, Central Committee, Cybercafe, City Council, Chat Club and more!

2. .CC domain name also provides a higher success rate in registering for the desired website name which website owners originally intended. Name availability is higher in .CC, as compared to .COM, which is highly saturated. Website owners who succeed in registering their original intended domain name will find it easier to do branding for their businesses. They can proceed with their original marketing plan for branding without the need to adjust their marketing messages. It is beneficial for the business in the long run.

3. .CC domain name strengthens confidence of website owners and gives peace of mind to them. They know that it is operated by VeriSign, the registry behind .COM and .NET, and its service is reliable. Besides, we at WebNIC are also using .CC and is the first regional registrar that provides registration for .CC domain name. We are committed to provide the best support for all .CC registrants, as we are advocates of .CC and encourage website owners to register .CC domain.

Conclusion

.CC domain is a ccTLD which offers many benefits. It is suitable to be used by anyone, any companies or any entities. It can stand for many meaning and its usage is very vast. .CC domain name also stands out due to its unique context, and is favoured by many entities with a popularity that can match .COM and .NET. Its great usability in many different cases ensures memorability, attention catching and easy to type. Famous companies like Amazon, Intel and Coca-Cola have also registered their .CC domains. Promote .CC to your clients now!

 

WebNIC is proud to be the pioneer ICANN accredited registrar in promoting .CC domain. We are committed to offering the best service experience for .CC and worked hard to promote it in many regions. Now, .CC is available worldwide and well-knowned. Drop us an email at [email protected] or live chat with us to register .CC!

 

About WebNIC

WebNIC is accredited registrar for ICANN, and various countries including Asia, Europe, America, Australasia, and Africa. With offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, Indonesia and Taiwan, we serve 4,500+ active resellers over 70 countries. To join us and become a reseller, live chat with us or email us at [email protected].

 

.FANS is Available Soon From WebNIC on 24 February 2020!

We are excited to announce the offer of .FANS New generic Top-level Domain (gTLD), starting on 24 February 2020. It is a domain best used by businesses or public figures to build rapport with their fans community on the vast Internet landscape. It connects the business or celebrity with their fans community to establish a close relationship. The most obvious benefit of using .FANS is its ability in identifying an exclusive social group for an entity, which is the official home for fellow fans. Through using .FANS, fellow fans can connect and share their passion with each other. It is suitable to be used across industries like entertainment, gaming, technology, automobile, retail, media, sports and many more. Any entity with a fan base should definitely use .FANS to connect and maintain a warm relationship with the fans community on the Internet.

Why Choose .FANS?

1. The Internet has become an important channel to maintain a warm relationship with fans.

The Internet is now a platform for getting updates and catching up with news from celebrities and business brands. Many fans communities use the Internet to read the story and get updates from their favourite celebrities, influencers or businesses. It is important for public figures and businesses to maintain a close relationship with fans, as things move so fast nowadays and losing attention is very fast, too. .FANS is the perfect domain name for public figures and businesses to interact with fans continuously. It is crucial for branding and catching attention through .FANS is a recommended approach.

2. It is an excellent opportunity to gather fans online.

.FANS is the perfect domain name to gather fans online. It acts as an invitation to encourage fans to join the community and share their passion with each other. It is perfect for a group of people who share a universal love for a specific individual, business or hobby. .FANS brings fans together to gather online in a unique and exclusive social space on the Internet and can also be used to act as the official channel to release news and updates. Public figures, businesses or any entity with a fan base should choose a domain name with .FANS to establish and gather fans online!

3. Strong global exposure and exclusiveness

.FANS is an intuitive word and easily understood by the public. It provides the possibility of a strong worldwide exposure and a feeling of unique exclusiveness to a business or an individual. Having a .FANS domain shows that the entity is serious in building rapport with fans and strives to achieve a strong global presence. It also gives the opportunity to impart an inclusive feeling for the fans community of the entity. Fans will feel they are a part of the community, and enjoy the exclusivity feeling and increased loyalty to the entity. It is precisely why .FANS domain is the recommended choice for any businesses or individuals who place the importance of their fans as a priority.

Register .FANS With WebNIC

WebNIC .FANS will be available for registration starting from 24 February 2020. Drop us an email at [email protected] or live chat with us for any inquiry now!

About WebNIC

WebNIC is accredited registrar for ICANN, and various countries including Asia, Europe, America, Australasia, and Africa. With offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, Indonesia and Taiwan, we serve 4,500+ active resellers over 70 countries. To join us and become a reseller, live chat with us or email us at [email protected].

What is a Country Code Top-level Domain (ccTLD)?

A Country Code Top-level Domain (ccTLD) is a unique 2-letter Internet top-level domain. It is used for a specific country, territory or geographical area to serve the community within it. It follows the internationally recognized country codes and can identify a particular country or geographical area that a website is serving. Anyone can do ccTLD domain name registrations, provided that he/she meets the requirements of said ccTLD and buy the service from a credible ccTLD domain reseller. WebNIC invites you to become a ccTLD domain reseller. Sign up now to get the best domain reseller price for ccTLDs.

The History of ccTLD

The ccTLD policy began when scientists Jon Postel and Paul Mockapetris developed the Domain Name Server (DNS) in 1983. Under a contract with the U.S. government, Postel, and later the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), managed the DNS and delegated ccTLDs to external parties. The first ccTLD, “.US” (United States) was created and delegated in March 1985. Two other ccTLDs, “.UK” (United Kingdom) and “.IL” (Israel), were also delegated in the same year. Back then, ccTLDs were delegated on a first-come, first-served basis. However, the Internet soon exploded and political problems arose, making this approach to ccTLD delegation no longer feasible. Therefore, Postel started assigning ccTLDs by using the ISO 3166-1 country codes by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to shield itself from political pressures. By the mid-1990s, IANA delegated every possible ccTLDs to all existing countries, including those with limited Internet access.

The Current Status of ccTLD

As of the time of writing, a Verisign publication cited source from Zooknic showed that there is now a total of 304 ccTLD domain name registrations, including Internationalized Domain Names (IDN) worldwide, and 158.7M domains are registered under a ccTLD. The Total number of ccTLD registrations increased 1.9M, or 1.2% from Q1 2019 to Q2 2019, whereby registrations increased by 8.9M, or 6.0% year-over-year.

The data above shows that ccTLDs are very popular and continue to enjoy a high registration rate from the public. The top 10 most popular ccTLDs include .CN (China), .TK (Tokelau), .DE (Germany), .UK (United Kingdom), .TW (Taiwan), .NL (Netherlands), .RU (Russian Federation), .BR (Brazil), .EU (European Union) and .FR (France). These top 10 ccTLDs alone, combine to make up 65.7% of all ccTLD domain name registrations. The most popular ccTLDs by the number of domains registered are listed out below, starting from number 10 to number 1.

10) .FR

.FR was introduced in 1986. It was one of the few earliest ccTLDs to be delegated to a foreign manager by Postel. It currently sits at number 10 by the total number of domains registered, 3.4M. Some example websites include orange.fr, free.fr and lemonde.fr.

9) .EU

.EU was launched in 2005. It was relatively young in terms of age compared to other ccTLDs, but it has received a high level of popularity. It currently ranks number 9 in the total number of domains registered at 3.7M. Some websites using .EU include europa.eu, eurid.eu and politico.eu.

8) .BR

.BR was introduced in 1989. It was one of the oldest ccTLDs to be delegated. It currently places number 8 in the total number of domains registered, 4.1M. Some example websites include uol.com.br, mercadolivre.com.br and correios.com.br.

7) .RU

.RU was launched in 1994. It was one of the many ccTLDs that was delegated to all existing countries in the 1990s. It currently sits at number 7 by the total number of domains registered, 5.7M. Some websites using .RU include yandex.ru, mail.ru and ok.ru.

6) .NL

.NL was introduced in 1986. It was one of the oldest ccTLDs to be delegated. It currently ranks number 6 in the total number of domains registered, 5.9M. Some example websites include telegraaf.nl, ad.nl and funda.nl.

5) .TW

.TW was launched in 1989. It was one of the oldest ccTLDs to be delegated. It currently places number 5 in the total number of domains registered, 6.5M. Some websites using .TW include shopee.tw, ltn.com.tw and pchome.com.tw.

4) .UK

.UK was introduced in 1985. It was the first few earliest ccTLDs to be delegated to a foreign manager by Postel. It currently sits at number 4 by the total number of domains registered, 13.3M. Some example websites include bbc.co.uk, indeed.co.uk and next.co.uk.

3) .DE

.DE was launched in 1986. It was one of the oldest ccTLDs to be delegated. It currently ranks number 3 in the total number of domains registered, 16.2M. Some websites using .DE include web.de, bild.de and t-online.de.

2) .TK

.TK was introduced in 1997. It enjoyed a high acceptance due to its free policy. However, it is also suffering from a bad reputation due to many hackers and spammers abusing the free policy. It currently places number 2 in the total number of domains registered, 22.5M.

1) .CN

.CN was launched in 1990. It was one of the many ccTLDs that was delegated to all existing countries in the 1990s. It currently sits at number 1 by the total number of domains registered, 23.0M. Some websites using .CN include 360.cn, gmw.cn and youth.cn.

A Summary of the Most Popular ccTLDs

Rank	ccTLD	Number of Registrations
1	.CN	23.0M
2	.TK	22.5M
3	.DE	16.2M
4	.UK	13.3M
5	.TW	6.5M
6	.NL	5.9M
7	.RU	5.7M
8	.BR	4.1M
9	.EU	3.7M
10	.FR	3.4M

Conclusion

ccTLDs are excellent for websites serving specific geolocation. It serves as a powerful indicator to search engines that a website is targeted for a particular country or location. As a result, websites which use ccTLDs have a higher chance to rank higher on localized search results page for users. Also, ccTLDs provide a higher level of trust and confidence for local users.

We believe that ccTLDs will become more welcomed by website owners soon, as the trend shows Internet users prefer localized search results as they are more relevant to them. ccTLDs might play a considerable role in such a scenario. Join us now and become a ccTLD domain reseller partner of WebNIC. Sign up now to get the best domain reseller price for ccTLDs. Grab the chance now to ride the wave to the future where ccTLDs are even more common than now, or even preferred by Internet users all around the world.

About WebNIC
WebNIC is accredited registrar for ICANN, and various countries including Asia, Europe, America, Australasia, and Africa. With offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, Indonesia and Taiwan, we serve 4,500+ active resellers over 70 countries. To join us and become a reseller, live chat with us or email us at [email protected].

At the beginning of October 2019, the leading new domains registry Radix announced to the public it closed a deal to acquire .UNO from Dot Latin LLC. It completed the transfer of ownership in September 2019, and now has the exclusive rights to operate .UNO globally. The earliest that .UNO will be available for Radix’s 200+ registrar partners, including WebNIC, is projected to be in early 2020.

.UNO is a 3-letter new top-level domain. It is expected that this category of domain will become more popular as time progresses. Trends have shown that 3-letter new top-level domains are gaining acceptance globally and recorded a consistent and natural increase of new registrations. To put it in context, 4 out of the top 10 new domain extensions (by zone size) are 3-letter domains, with a combined total of 8.5 million+ registrations. .UNO will be the second 3-letter domain under Radix after .FUN, which was acquired by Radix in H1 2017.

An Introduction of .UNO

.UNO means “one” in Spanish and resonates well with Spanish, Portuguese and Italian speaking communities. It is perfect for businesses that serve these communities. It was first operated by Dot Latin LLC and started about 5 years ago, but has struggled to grow. However, renewals appear to be somewhat strong, according to Radix standards, without having to rely on promotions or throwaway one-year registrations for growth. .UNO currently ranks 138 as of the time of writing among the new top-level domains with approximately 16.5K registrations. It peaked at about 22K about 3 years ago.

Radix Appears to be Very Excited With .UNO

Speaking about the acquisition, Sandeep Ramchandani, CEO, Radix, said, “We are excited to add .UNO to our portfolio which boasts of some of the most successful new extensions. As with our other TLDs, the idea is to invest in various marketing avenues to take .UNO to the market with our strong registrar network; specifically in geographies such as Latin America and Asia where there is an affinity to the string.”

It seems that Radix already has plans on how to market and promote .UNO. As it is the leading registry for new top-level domains, we are confident that it will be able to bring .UNO to new heights. Two of Radix’s most successful domains include .ONLINE and .SITE, each with over 1 million registrations, and we hope that .UNO can achieve the same success.

In case you do not know, Radix is the leading new top-level domains registry behind domain extensions like .ONLINE, .STORE, .TECH, .WEBSITE, .SPACE, .PRESS, .SITE, .HOST, .FUN and one re-purposed ccTLD, .PW. With the addition of .UNO, Radix will be officially offering 11 new top-level domains. As an accredited registrar of Radix, WebNIC offers .ONLINE, .STORE, .TECH, .WEBSITE, .SPACE, .PRESS, .SITE, .HOST and .PW. If you have any clients that operate businesses in these fields, it will be great to offer them the chance to brand themselves with these new top-level domains. The good news is, promotion is now ongoing for .ONLINE, .STORE, .TECH, .WEBSITE, .SPACE, .SITE and .HOST until 31 December 2019. Contact us to learn more details. Drop us an email at [email protected] or live chat with us!

About WebNIC

WebNIC is accredited registrar for ICANN, and various countries including Asia, Europe, America, Australasia, and Africa. With offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, Indonesia and Taiwan, we serve 4,500+ active resellers over 70 countries. To join us and become a reseller, live chat with us or email us at [email protected]</a.

What .tech Domain Achieved in Just 4 Short Years

.tech turns 4 this year and it has been a great journey for this New generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD). It stands out and speaks for the tech communities from all around the world, be it tech brands, start-ups, communities, individuals, events or tech initiatives. It is the perfect domain name for all things tech. It helps to differentiate a tech start-up brand from the millions of brands worldwide.

The Success of .tech

Radix, the registry behind the .tech New gTLD, published information on the achievements of .tech, showing its success is unique and on a league of its own. Not a single New gTLD is able to accomplish what .tech has, and we are willing to bet that there will not be one. In case you are wondering, below is a list of the achievements:

1. According to CrunchBase, at least 170 start-ups on .tech were able to secure $2 billion Venture Capital funding between 2017 to 2019, the highest amongst nTLDs. These start-ups come from various industries, including auto, crypto, mobility, energy etc. Some of the top start-ups that succeed in securing VC funds on .tech include Aurora.tech , Innoviz.tech and Flit.tech.
2.  As of June 2019, data from CrunchBase also shows that start-ups are using more than 250 new TLDs and .tech is the most popular among them, used by 650+ start-ups.
3. .tech is associated with 30+ Premium Strategic Partners and has a staggering community reach of 40M+ , including top partners GitHub (35M+ members), Learn to Code With Me (500K+ listeners) and famous web development instructor Rob Percival (1.2M+ students).
4. Over 400+ events and hackathons have been supported by .tech, reaching 100K+ techies around the world. Notable events include Consumer Electronics Show (CES.tech), JazzCon (JazzCon.tech) and StanHacks (StanHacks.tech).
5. Endorsed by 60+ tech thought leaders, using .tech for their websites. The combined social reach of these thought leaders are a staggering 10M+ followers. Top tech gurus using .tech include Austin Evans (austin-evans.tech) with 5M+ social reach, Edgar (DealSource.tech) with 1.8M+ social reach and Dom Esposito (Dom.tech) with 500K+ social reach, just to name a few.

Suman Das, Director of Brand Operations at Radix, said, “Since its launch, there has been a steady organic uptake across the tech industry with start-ups, small tech businesses, thought leaders, pioneers, and communities adopting .tech domain extension for branding their online presence.”.

It is clear that .tech is highly popular and resonates well with the tech communities worldwide. Its popularity further increased when industry big names such as CES (ces.tech), Intel (insight.tech), Viacom (viacom.tech) decided to use .tech for their websites. It has become the preferred domain for technology start-ups because it speaks out their identity. It is available, short, easily recallable and brandable. Tech start-ups have the perfect opportunity to showcase their determination to change the world with their pioneering tech ideas using .tech.

“Our primary focus has always been to ensure that .tech is presented as an enabler of tech and product innovation to the growing community of technology enthusiasts, and to increase awareness of not just .tech but also the new top-level domains industry on the whole”, Suman Das further added.

Radix performed independent market research back in June 2019 among tech professionals and tech students. The results were very positive, and that one in two respondents was aware of .tech domain extension. They also found out that attributes such as credibility, uniqueness, and suitability for tech businesses are strongly associated with .tech domain extension.

When asked about the future of .tech domain extension, Suman Das added, “We will continue with our efforts to amplify the visibility for .tech amongst the tech ecosystem. With high-impact partnerships and adoption across the spectrum, we wish to make .tech the most sought-after domain extension in the global tech industry.”

.tech is 4 years old now, and is one of the premier domain extensions offered by Radix, along with .online, .store, .tech, .website, .space, .press, .site, .host, .fun, .uno and one re-purposed ccTLD, .pw. The total number of domains managed by Radix has surpassed 5 million as of July 2019. Radix is one of the few registries that obtains a huge success with its range of domain offerings, and we are eager to see how the future of .tech success will be like.

WebNIC is proud to be an accredited registrar of Radix, offering .tech domain. If you are currently providing services to tech companies, .tech is perfectly suitable for them to use for their websites. The good news is, WebNIC is currently running a promotion for .tech. Our promotion period runs until 31 December 2019, in which you can get for $3.99 only! Hurry up and contact us to learn more details about .tech promotion. Drop us an email at [email protected] or live chat with us!

Europeans Can Register .EU Domains Anywhere in the World Starting From 19 October 2019

It has been announced by the .EU registry EURid that any Europeans living outside of Europe are now eligible to register .EU starting from 19 October 2019. This was previously impossible as .EU registrants are required to be based in Europe, with a valid Europe address, to be considered as eligible to register for .EU. The announcement is good news for any Europeans currently based outside of Europe, which they were once previously ineligible to register.

A Brief Background of .EU Domain

The top-level domain .EU currently ranks as the eighth-largest country code top-level domain (ccTLD) in the world. It achieved more than 3.7 million registrations across Europe, ever since it launched back in 2006. The number of registrations per year averages more than 20k, and it is considered as one of the most popular ccTLDs. This is especially true when the launch of .EU yielded impressive registration numbers for its Sunrise phases and Landrush (general public availability).

The Reason Behind the Change

Citing the need to meet the ever-changing needs of the digital environment and the Internet, EURid stated that this change is necessary in order to serve the community of Europeans from around the world. It also mentioned that there are approximately 12 million Europeans living in the US, Canada, and Australia alone, not accounting the rest of the world, and they are all ineligible for registering .EU prior to the change due to geographic restrictions.

With this change effective from 19 October 2019, EURid hopes to provide these individuals with an online platform so that they can take the opportunity to connect their lives with families and friends back home. Regardless of where these individuals are, EURid stated that registering a .EU domain will be like a European passport on the Internet, representing reliable, trustworthy and secure. The domain .EU is suitable for blogs, travel diary or personal business, and will bring individual and consumer rights under European standards and regulations.

“We are excited to be able to extend the registration criteria to EU citizens around the world. The .eu domain is now closer to your ambitions, achievements, and dreams. It is the bridge connecting you to your friends and family – even if you live outside the EU. It will always show your roots, your outlook, and your cultural values.” – Marc Van Wesemael, EURid`s CEO.

WebNIC is an accredited registrar of EURid and offers .EU domain to our partners. If you have any European customers, this is an excellent opportunity to inform them of this change: Europeans can register .EU domains anywhere in the world starting from 19 October 2019.

About WebNIC

WebNIC is accredited registrar for ICANN, and various countries including Asia, Europe, America, Australasia, and Africa. With offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, Indonesia and Taiwan, we serve 4,500+ active resellers over 70 countries. To join us and become a reseller, live chat with us or email us at [email protected].

Fashion.com Domain to be Auctioned This Autumn 2019

The Paris Fashion Week 2019 ended recently, and the Internet domain industry was excited by an announcement on the final day of the event. It was announced that one of the most valuable .coms on the net, fashion.com, are to be auctioned off this Autumn 2019. This is massive news because fashion.com is one of the most sought-after and highly valued domains. Domain industry experts believe that it will fetch a record-breaking price.

A Brief History of fashion.com

Fashion.com was registered back in 1994. The domain’s three current owners originally started out together to work on a fashion project. While starting out, they believed they needed a domain for their business needs and discovered that fashion.com was available, so they decided to buy it. However, things did not proceed as planned, and their plans changed, leaving the domain fashion.com unused until today.
As time goes on, the Internet age exploded and domains trading quickly became a norm. At the same time, the fashion industry skyrocketed as well, fetching in billions of revenue each year. As fashion is a keyword in English, the domain fashion.com quickly became a highly sought-after and highly valued domain. This is because fashion.com is short, easy and leaves a powerful impression. As a result, dozens of individuals and companies reached out to the current owners of fashion.com and offered to purchase it over the past 25 years.

“Fashion.com is a rare one: iconic, highly memorable and easily searched.
It should generate strong sales numbers while saving its buyer
millions in sales and marketing costs.”
— Karine Kugler, CEO & Internet Marketing Expert

A Formal Auction to Ensure Fairness for All Parties to Bid for fashion.com

Due to the overwhelming inquiries from many parties, the owners have agreed to sell fashion.com through auction, a formal and systematic bidding process. This ensures fairness and equal opportunities for all those interested in acquiring it.
The auction is believed to incorporate both private bidding and if necessary, a public auction. Private bidding will begin 24th October 2019 and the public auction, if needed, is scheduled on 21st November 2019.
The reason behind this is to account for the fact that some buyers are unwilling to make public the amount of their winning bids. Therefore, private bidding is a necessary procedure. The official service providers include the global leader in secure online escrow payments, Escrow.com, and the pioneering Dutch online auction platform Auction-Experts, which will oversee the entire process of the auction and its related software.

The Overall Process of the Auction

Private bidding will start from 2 PM EST on Thursday, 10th October 2019. Any interested parties can register as a bidder through links on fashion.com after the specified time. Each pre-qualified, registered bidders can only bid once. It is not possible to increase bid against other bidders as all bids are confidential. Private bidding closes at 11 PM EST on Thursday, 7th November 2019.
In the event that the seller does not accept the winning bid of private bidding, public bidding will commence on Thursday, 21st November, 2019. The highest price resulting from the public auction will be compared to the highest private bid. The higher of these two resulting winners will become the new owner of fashion.com.

The information presented in this article is accurate as of the time of writing.
Please note that all details on this page are unofficial descriptions of the bidding process for fashion.com, with the official rules to be formally detailed as part of the bidding registration process which begins 10th October.
For detailed information about the auction, please visit https://www.fashion.com/about to learn more!

Not interested in fashion.com? Then, check out our extensive range of Top-level Domains available. We are also currently offering promotions for selected domains, visit now to learn more! WebNIC is a leading authority in technology services, offering one-stop online solution focused on domain name wholesale service, online security solution, trademark protection, and digital brand management. We are accredited registrar for ICANN, and various countries including Asia, Europe, America, Australasia, and Africa. With offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, Indonesia and Taiwan, we serve 4,500+ active resellers over 70 countries. To join us and become a reseller, live chat with us or email us at [email protected].

A Brief Background of New gTLDs

New gTLDs are becoming more and more popular with each passing minute. Since they were launched back in 2013, the response for New gTLDs has been very positive. It is an initiative by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), with the aim of expanding the domain name system, while reducing the saturation that is happening with legacy gTLDs such as “.com”, “.net”, “.org”, “.biz”, and “.info”. ICANN hopes to enhance innovation, competition and consumer choice through the introduction of New gTLDs, and as a result the Internet got a whole lot bigger and more interesting.

How is New gTLDs Doing Now?

At present day, there are approximately 1200 New gTLDs available, and the number of domains registered using them comes close to 27 million. This is a remarkable feat, considering that New gTLDs are launched only 6 years ago. On average, ICANN has increased the domain name system by 200 per year, and 4.5 million domains were registered using New gTLDs per year. This is a solid proof that they are well received by the public, and it is not hard to see why, because New gTLDs bring many benefits to the registrants, regardless of whether they are individuals or businesses.

The Benefits of Using New gTLDs for Business

Here are 5 benefits of using New gTLDs for business.

1. New gTLDs help increase branding opportunity for businesses of all sizes

It is known that to register for a desired “.com” gTLD now is an extremely difficult thing to do. It is difficult in the sense that many domain options have been taken and it is challenging to think of one that is suitable for the registrant’s needs. This is especially true for small businesses, which are unable to secure their preferred “.com” domain, as most of them are already registered.
For example, Sean has a small delivery business and wishes to register a domain. It is possible that seandelivery.com has been taken and he cannot register for it unless he spends a lot of money to buy it over from the current owner. This is where New gTLDs can come in helpful for Sean. He can look for alternative TLDs such as “.delivery” for his domain. A sean.delivery domain fits Sean’s need perfectly! This is why with the introduction of New gTLDs, the chances for businesses to find the perfect domain is better than ever.
This also provides a possibility for businesses to be creative in establishing their branding, increasing their opportunity to brand themselves the way they preferred. With approximately 1200 New gTLDs available, businesses can enjoy the endless possibilities to register for fun and interesting domains, and also brand themselves in a way never possible before.
This is why businesses should use New gTLDs for their domains, as they increase branding opportunity for businesses big and small alike. Read here if you are unsure how to choose a good domain name.

2. New gTLDs provide improved clarity for a website

The advantage of New gTLDs over legacy gTLDs is that it improves clarity for users to instantly understand what a website is related to and in what industry. It happens very often that when a user visits a website with legacy gTLDs extension, it can be quite difficult for him to identify what this website is about.
Unless the website’s brand is a history-rich and a well-known brand worldwide, it is most probably we will not be able to identify the industry of a website with legacy gTLDs in first glance, like what does this brand do and what industry is it in.
New gTLDs take away this problem. The audience knows what to expect just by looking at a website’s URL using New gTLDs and becomes more curious to learn more. The increased clarity level enables businesses to send out a strong message beforehand, providing the audience a general idea about their services and products.
New gTLDs also help them to gain perspective and understand their audience better, and provides a big boost to help them hit the mark when looking for new target customers on the Internet. The many choices of New gTLDs help businesses to identify and push towards the right niche. Businesses can generate authority within their respective niches and hit their target audience with a certain exactness.
A high clarity website URL, which is easy to understand and presenting a right message, helps a business to generate authority in its niche and provides a better chance to attract the right target audience. This is why businesses should use New gTLDs for their domains. Unsure what to pay attention when choosing a domain name? Read here.

3. New gTLDs help brands to grow and expand

New gTLDs offer opportunities for brands to pivot for growth and expansion, helping a successful brand to maintain its strong presence across different New gTLDs. The advantage to this is that the brand can expand its growth to a different venture, without having to mix up with its core business.
For example, say your local gym brand is a huge success and is looking to diversify its services or offerings. Adding them to the existing website might not be recommended as the website might become too heavy, or the new services might not be related to its core business.
This is where New gTLDs shine, as they are a feasible method for the gym brand to use the desired domains to expand its growth into different sectors, while maintaining its strong brand presence. The brand might want to expand into supplying gym equipment, then abcgym.equipment is the perfect domain. Or the gym expands into fashion, then abcgym.fashion is a great domain that suits this particular need.
New gTLDs also offer opportunities for brands to expand into a non-English language market. This is because New gTLDs are available as Internationalized Domain Names (IDN), domain names which are not in ASCII characters (a-z, A-Z, 0-9). Brands can take advantage of this and expand into foreign markets, presenting themselves as a local brand, which is usually preferred by the locals.
New gTLDs enable new and exciting marketing opportunity for businesses, offering potential growth and expansion, and that is why using New gTLDs is beneficial for businesses. Here are some tips to choose a great domain name!

4. New gTLDs leave a memorable and lasting impression

A successful business always leaves a strong and lasting impression for its customers, and New gTLDs can contribute to this, too. A good domain name is short and memorable, and it is recommended for all businesses to register for such domains. This is because they are able to get recognized easily by customers and they are easy to be typed in the web browser. After all, no one wants to type in a long domain name which is difficult to remember.
On another hand, to get short and memorable domain names with legacy gTLDs is obviously quite difficult now, since most of them are registered already. However, New gTLDs do not have this problem, at least not as apparent as the legacy gTLDs, and it is relatively easy to find a desired short and memorable domain name using New gTLDs. This important factor will definitely help businesses to score well in impression and memorability.
New gTLDs also allow businesses to upgrade their web address to be more creative and descriptive, showcasing their creativity and personality. This helps businesses to improve awareness and impression, an important factor for a successful business. The wide choice of New gTLDs also provides higher chances for businesses to find a more specific domain extension that suits them, and probably reduce the length of their website URL for increased impression.
New gTLDs can definitely benefit businesses in terms of exposure, awareness and creativity. It is a great opportunity for businesses to use New gTLDs to keep up and remain competitive in this new creative strategy. So, how should you choose a great domain name? Read here.

5. May help in SEO and search engine ranking

New gTLDs might help in SEO and improve search rankings. Although there is still debate whether New gTLDs are beneficial for a website or not, ideally it would be better for businesses to lock their desired New gTLDs domain first. The reason is because Google changes its algorithm quite often and there is no telling whether Google will soon favour New gTLDs or not. It would not hurt to register first, just in case Google surprises all of us!
Another possibility that New gTLDs are ideal for search engine, is that a website using them tends to create more attraction and curiosity, possibly resulting in higher visits. The number of visitors to a website is also a ranking factor, and with increased visits, Google might just identify a business’ website as a trusted and reliable website and ranks it higher. This indirectly boosts the website’s SEO and search engine ranking.
New gTLDs also help in identifying with a local community. Most of them are pretty specific, such as geolocation New gTLDs like “.london”, “.taipei”, “.vegas” etc. Is a business providing design services in London? Then tell potential customers this at a glance with abcdesign.london. Is a business offering marketing services in Taipei? Use abcmarketing.taipei. In the future Google might do wonders for domains like these, since it spent $25 million to acquire .app back in 2015.
It is still early to determine whether New gTLDs will provide a positive effect for SEO and search engine rankings. However, it is always better for businesses to lock in their desired domain name first. Just in case, Google surprises us, at least the business is already on the wagon. Advise your customers to quickly go and register their desired New gTLDs domains, and here are some tips to choose a great domain name.

Conclusion

It is an exciting time now with the availability of New gTLDs! They provide huge branding opportunities for all businesses, allow the audience to understand a website at a quick glance, provide a chance for brands to grow beyond their core offers, leave a strong and lasting impression for the audience and can indirectly boost customer engagement for the benefits of SEO. If there are any businesses not on the New gTLDs wagon yet, they better hurry! With so many benefits, it would not be a mistake for businesses to use New gTLDs for an exciting time ahead!