In Internet terms, the registrar is a service provider selling and managing domain names. One typically checks with the registrar to find out if a domain name is available, using the whois service. When a domain name is purchased, it is the registrar who receives payment and then grants ownership of the domain name until the ownership period expires. The pending expiration is communicated to the domain owner to allow them to extend the ownership period or let the domain name drop, should they no longer wish to keep the name. If it expires, the domain is then freely available for others to purchase. Domain name ownership generally lasts for 1 year, with a renewal fee charged each year that is slightly less than the purchase price.

A web host offers disk storage space and a share of Internet bandwidth to customers wishing to publish a web site. Once the domain name is registered with the registrar, web hosting space can be purchased from the web host. After this is done, the web host gives the customer a set of name server addresses which usually look like this: ns1.servername.com and ns2.servername.com. The customer inputs the name server addresses at their registrar. This “points” the domain name at the web host.

What happens now? The domain name’s IP address is then allowed to propagate through the domain name servers (DNS) on the Internet. Since the DNS’s refresh their domain name listings at regular intervals, the change takes time to move throughout all the servers all over the planet. Most web hosting providers quote about 24 or so hours for a new domain name to be refreshed and available for problem-free Internet navigation.

In many cases, service providers offer both domain registration and the web hosting. This makes registering a domain and hosting a web site a seamless process. EarthLink, for example, offers domain registration, web hosting and even site building tools like the Trellix Web Site Builder.