Registrant , registrar, registry , reseller, extension and so on. The world of domain names has its own jargon. But what do all those words mean?
- Registry
A registry is the body that manages all the domain names in a given extension. DNS Belgium is the authority for .be, .vlaanderen and .brussels. The main task of a registry is to prevent that a certain name is registered twice. You can find the full description of DNS Belgium here.
- Extension
The last part of the domain name. For the domain name dnsbelgium.be the .be is the extension of the domain name.
- Registrar
A registrar is a company where you can register domain names. They do this directly with the registry. For this purpose, the registrar has to apply for a licence or an accreditation with the registry for each extension. These registrars often also offer other services such as web and e-mail hosting or other internet-related services.
- Reseller
Not all companies that sell domain names have their own accreditation. However, you can approach them for domain names and related products. They act as a reseller for a directly accredited registrar. A company can be both a registrar and a reseller. It is then registrar for those extensions for which it has its own accreditation and reseller for the other extensions it sells.
- Registrant
A registrant is the holder or owner of a domain name. This can be either a company or an organisation. Private individuals can also register a domain name in their own name.
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