A domain name, such as NWspirit.com, signifies a unique address on the Internet, since no two parties may ever hold identical domain names. This is how your customers will remember you and find you among the millions of other websites on the Internet.

The Domain Name System (DNS) helps users to find their way around the Internet. Every computer on the Internet has a unique address - just like a telephone number - called its 'IP address' (IP stands for 'Internet Protocol'). IP The DNS makes using the Internet easier by allowing a familiar string of letters (the 'domain name') to be used instead of the IP address. So instead of typing 174.132.203.74, you can type www.chericalvert.com. It makes addresses easier to remember.

To own a domain name, you need to register it on the Internet.

A domain name registrar is a company, accredited by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) or by a national ccTLD authority, to register Internet domain names.

This paid service inserts an entry into a directory of all the domain names and their corresponding computers on the Internet. As of 2008, the cost generally ranges from a low of about $8.50 per year to about $35 per year. The maximum period of registration of a domain name is generally 10 years.

If a domain registration expires, no matter how or why, it can be difficult, expensive, or impossible for the original owner to get it back. After the expiration date, the domain status passes through several different phases, over a period of months; it does not simply become generally available.

Some packages of services, such as web hosting, include the domain registration in the total package pricing, but they are two separate services.

Transfer scams

Some companies attempt to trick customers into switching from their current registrar by sending an official-looking notice by mail, fax, or e-mail. Text often includes legalese to confuse the end user into thinking that it is an official binding notice. Scam registrars go after domain names that are expiring soon or have recently expired. Expired domain names do not have to go through the authentication process to be transferred, as the previous registrar would have relinquished management rights of the domain name.

Domain name information and expiry dates are readily available via WHOIS.