Simply put, a domain name registrar is a service that allows you to officially register your desired website domain name so that it is unique to you, and no one else can own it.Originally, there was just one company that could register your domain name for you, but now there are literally hundreds.
Legitimate domain name registrars are accredited by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
ICANN is a private (non-government).
A non-profit corporation that has been given the responsibility of allocating IP addresses and managing the Domain Name System.
The Domain Name System is what allows you to reach a website by typing in its name, rather than its numerical IP address.
(For more on this topic, please read our article on “What Is a Domain Name?“.)
How domain registrars work
Domain names are not something that can be bought off the shelf. There’s a top-level non-profit authority for managing domain names – ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names).
ICANN oversees domain registration. The domain names are all entered in a central registry (domain registry), and needless to say, your domain name will have to find a place in it to be valid.
In fact, it’s the domain registry that actually manages and maintains domain names. The registry leaves the task of commercial sales of domain names to domain registrars.
In order to be a domain name registrar, you need accreditation from ICANN. In turn, domain registrars can sell domain names to you directly, or through re-sellers. If you’re looking for proper service, it’s best to buy the domain names directly from the domain registrars.
To widen the choice of domain names, we use different domain extensions – for example .com, .edu and .org. Or country-specific extensions such as .en, .in and .au. You should know that not all domain registrars sell all extensions and this may limit your choice of domain registrars.