WebBuilding

Foundations

Domain name

Summary

A domain name is the readable name, such as webbuilding.net, that the Domain Name System uses to find the computers behind a website or email address. Paul Mockapetris first described the system in RFC 882 in November 1983, and the first .com name, symbolics.com, was registered on March 15, 1985. ICANN coordinates the system, registries run each extension and registrars sell names to the public. Verisign's wholesale price for a .com rises from $10.26 to $10.97 a year on November 1, 2026.

Web Building Encyclopedia · Foundations · Last reviewed October 22, 2026 · 10 min read

What a domain name is

A domain name is the name part of a web or email address, such as webbuilding.net. The Domain Name System (DNS) uses it to find the computers behind a site, so people can type a name instead of a numeric IP address.1

The rules for domain names were set in two documents published in November 1987, RFC 1034 and RFC 1035, both written by Paul Mockapetris.12 An RFC, or Request for Comments, is a numbered document in the series that holds the internet’s technical standards.

A domain name is a chain of labels separated by dots. RFC 1034 defines the name of any point in the system as the list of labels on the path from that point up to the root, the unnamed top of the tree.1 In www.webbuilding.net, “net” is the top-level domain, “webbuilding” is the second-level name the owner registered, and “www” is a label the owner added below it.

RFC 1035 sets the size limits: 63 octets (bytes) for each label and 255 octets for a whole name. Its preferred syntax uses only letters, digits and hyphens, and names are compared without regard to case, so Example.COM and example.com are the same name.2

Names written in other scripts, such as Arabic, Chinese or Cyrillic, are called internationalized domain names (IDNs). Under the current standards, each such label travels through the DNS in an ASCII form that starts with “xn--“, produced by an encoding called Punycode.3 The first top-level domains in non-Latin script, for Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, became available on May 5, 2010.4

Origins: from a hosts file to symbolics.com

Before domain names, every computer on the early internet looked up the others in one shared file, HOSTS.TXT, kept by the Network Information Center (NIC). RFC 1034 explains why that could not last: the bandwidth needed to send out each new copy grew with the square of the number of hosts, and local changes had to wait for the NIC.1

Mockapetris described a distributed replacement in RFC 882, published in November 1983, with a companion document, RFC 883. Both were later replaced by RFC 1034 and RFC 1035.52 In October 1984, RFC 920 by Jon Postel and Joyce Reynolds listed the first top-level domains: GOV, EDU, COM, MIL and ORG, a temporary ARPA domain, and two-letter country codes taken from the ISO 3166 standard. It described COM as the domain for commercial organizations.6

The first .com name was symbolics.com, registered by the computer company Symbolics on March 15, 1985. The Register reported that just five domain names were registered that year.7 As of October 22, 2026, Verisign’s registration record for symbolics.com still shows a creation date of March 15, 1985, with Network Solutions as its registrar.8

Fees came a decade later. Amendment 4 to Network Solutions’ cooperative agreement with the US National Science Foundation let it charge $100 for a new two-year registration and $50 a year after that, effective September 14, 1995. Thirty percent of the money went into a fund for the internet’s “Intellectual Infrastructure.”9

In March 1994, Postel’s RFC 1591 set out how top-level domains were handed to the people who run them. It treated that job as a duty, not a property right: the managers of domains are “trustees for the delegated domain, and have a duty to serve the community.”10

Top-level domains: generic, country code and new

The top-level domain (TLD), the last label in a name, is what most people call the extension. IANA’s database of top-level domains sorts them into types that include generic and country code, along with special-use and test domains.11

  • Generic TLDs (gTLDs). RFC 1591 named seven: COM, EDU, NET, ORG, GOV, MIL and INT. COM was for commercial entities, NET for network providers and ORG for miscellaneous organizations, while GOV and MIL were limited to the United States.10 Today .com is run by VeriSign Global Registry Services and .gov by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.11
  • Country-code TLDs (ccTLDs). These are two-letter codes from ISO 3166, each run by a manager for that country or territory under its own rules.10 For example, .uk is managed by Nominet UK and .de by DENIC eG.11
  • New gTLDs. These are the hundreds of generic extensions added since 2013 through ICANN’s New gTLD Program, described below.12

ICANN’s board approved the rulebook for the program, the Applicant Guidebook, in June 2011. The application window opened on January 12, 2012, and ICANN received 1,930 applications. The first new gTLDs were delegated, meaning added to the DNS root, in October 2013.12 As of August 31, 2026, ICANN counted 1,241 delegated from that round, with 653 applications withdrawn.13

A second round took applications from April 30 to August 12, 2026. On October 7, 2026, ICANN said it had received 1,615 applications and set November 17, 2026 as String Confirmation Day, when the final list of applied-for names is published. It has not yet given a date for the first new extensions from this round to go live.14

Who runs the system: ICANN, IANA, registries and registrars

ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, was formed in 1998. It is a California nonprofit whose stated mission is the stable and secure operation of the internet’s unique identifier systems, and it coordinates the root zone of the DNS. It also states that it is “not the Internet content police.”15

IANA, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, keeps the authoritative public registries of internet identifiers in three groups: domain names, number resources such as IP addresses, and protocol codes.16 RFC 1591 already named IANA as responsible for the overall coordination and management of the DNS in 1994.10 Since October 1, 2016, the IANA functions have been performed by Public Technical Identifiers (PTI), an affiliate of ICANN, a change IANA announced as the completion of the IANA stewardship transition.17

Below them, four parties handle each registration:

  • Registry operator. Keeps the master database for one top-level domain, accepts registrations and runs the name servers for that zone.18
  • Registrar. A company accredited by ICANN that registers names for the public.18
  • Reseller. A company that sells names under contract with a registrar. Resellers are not accredited by ICANN, and the registrar stays responsible for their work.18
  • Registrant. The person or organization that registers the name. Fees, transfers and renewals are governed by the registrant’s agreement with the registrar.18 ICANN’s list of registrant responsibilities says the registrant takes sole responsibility for the registration and use of the name.19

The split between registry and registrar dates from 1999. Until then Network Solutions was the only registrar and registry administrator for .com, .net and .org. A shared registration system then opened those domains to competing registrars, beginning with five in a testbed that ICANN took applications for from March 11 to April 8, 1999.20

Verisign runs .com under a registry agreement with ICANN and a cooperative agreement with the US Department of Commerce. The registry agreement has a six-year term and must be renewed or extended by November 30, 2030. The cooperative agreement renewed automatically for another six years on November 30, 2024.21

Prices and renewals

A domain is registered for a period and must be renewed to stay with its holder. The price has layers. The registry charges registrars a wholesale fee for each year of each name, which Verisign calls the annual registry-level wholesale fee for .com.22 ICANN charges registrars a transaction fee of US$0.20 per transaction per year, the rate approved for its 2027 fiscal year.23 The registrar then adds its own margin.

When ICANN and Verisign announced a proposed amendment to the .com registry agreement on January 3, 2020, the wholesale price was $7.85.24 The amendment carried over a rule the US Department of Commerce had allowed: the .com registry agreement now permits Verisign to raise the maximum price by up to 7% over the previous year in each of the final four years of each six-year period, and the first such period began on October 26, 2018.2421 ICANN’s announcement said the price could not exceed $10.26 until October 2026.24

Verisign has used each step. These are the increases it announced, with the wholesale price for one year of a new or renewed .com:

Effective dateBeforeAfterAnnounced
September 1, 2021$7.85$8.39February 11, 202125
September 1, 2022$8.39$8.97February 10, 202226
September 1, 2023$8.97$9.59February 9, 202327
September 1, 2024$9.59$10.26February 8, 202428
November 1, 2026$10.26$10.97April 23, 202622

Each step is about 7%. The November 2026 increase falls in the second six-year period, which began on October 26, 2024, six years after the first.2122 Retail prices are set by registrars, so what an owner pays at renewal varies from one registrar to the next.21

The market these prices apply to is large. At the end of June 2026 there were 401.6 million domain name registrations across all top-level domains, including 166.6 million .com names, 12.5 million .net names and 148.6 million names in country-code domains.29

WHOIS, RDAP and privacy

For decades, the way to see who held a name was WHOIS, a simple protocol in which a server on TCP port 43 answers a one-line text query. Its 2004 specification, RFC 3912, credits the original standard to Ken Harrenstien, Mary Stahl and Elizabeth Feinler. It also says WHOIS “lacks mechanisms for access control, integrity, and confidentiality” and cannot signal which character set it uses.30

Its replacement is RDAP, the Registration Data Access Protocol, developed at the IETF. RDAP runs over HTTP and returns structured JSON. Its query format is defined in RFC 9082, published in June 2021, which replaced RFC 7482.31 On January 28, 2025, RDAP became the definitive source of registration data for generic TLDs.32 From that date gTLD registries and registrars were no longer required to provide WHOIS, except for .com, .name and .post.33 ICANN pointed to RDAP’s support for other languages, secure access and different levels of access for different users. Registrars and gTLD registries had offered RDAP since 2019.32

Privacy changed first. The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation took full effect on May 25, 2018. Eight days earlier, on May 17, the ICANN board adopted a Temporary Specification for gTLD Registration Data, effective May 25, so that registries and registrars could meet their ICANN contracts while addressing the GDPR.34 As ICANN put it in 2023, data protection laws now require many registrars to redact personal data that used to appear in WHOIS.35 A permanent Registration Data Policy took effect on August 21, 2025.36

People with a legitimate interest, such as police, cybersecurity staff or trademark lawyers, can ask for hidden data through ICANN’s free Registration Data Request Service (RDRS), launched on November 28, 2023. It passes the request to the registrar and does not guarantee that any data will be released.35

Transfers, expiry and disputes

ICANN’s Transfer Policy, in the version registrars had to apply by August 21, 2025, lets a registrant move a generic TLD name to another registrar. The current registrar must give the registrant an authorization code, called the AuthInfo code and unique to each domain, within five calendar days of a request unless it offers self-service tools.37 A registrar may refuse a transfer within 60 days of the name’s creation or of an earlier transfer, and it must apply a 60-day transfer lock after a change of registrant unless the registrant opted out. If the losing registrar does not answer the registry within five calendar days, the transfer goes through.37

Expiry follows ICANN’s Expired Registration Recovery Policy. Registrars must send at least two reminders, about one month and about one week before a name expires, and another within five days after expiry if it has not been renewed or deleted. After expiry the registrar must interrupt the name’s DNS resolution, which takes its website and email offline, for at least the last eight days in which the holder can still renew.38

If the name is then deleted, every generic TLD registry except sponsored ones must offer a 30-day Redemption Grace Period in which the former holder can still get it back through the registrar. The current version of the policy had to be in place by August 21, 2025.38

Disputes over names that copy a trademark go to the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), which ICANN adopted on August 26, 1999. It is part of every registration agreement made through an ICANN-accredited registrar for a generic TLD, and some country-code managers, such as those of .nu, .tv and .ws, have adopted it too.39 A complainant must prove three things:39

  1. The domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the complainant has rights.
  2. The holder has no rights or legitimate interests in the name.
  3. The name was registered and is being used in bad faith.

The only remedies are cancelling the name or transferring it to the complainant. The registrar waits ten business days before acting on a decision, which gives the holder time to take the case to court.39

The first case filed with WIPO under the UDRP, D99-0001, concerned worldwrestlingfederation.com. On January 14, 2000, the panel ordered it transferred to World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, finding bad faith mainly because the holder had offered to sell it to the company shortly after registering it.40

Timeline

  1. ICANN reveals 1,615 applications in the 2026 round of new generic TLDs14
  2. Verisign announces a .com wholesale increase from $10.26 to $10.97, effective November 1, 202622
  3. ICANN Registration Data Policy takes effect36
  4. RDAP becomes the definitive source of gTLD registration data and the WHOIS requirement ends for most gTLDs32
  5. The .com wholesale price rises to $10.2628
  6. The .com wholesale price rises from $7.85 to $8.39, the first increase under the amended agreement25
  7. ICANN Temporary Specification on registration data takes effect alongside the GDPR34
  8. Public Technical Identifiers, an ICANN affiliate, takes over the IANA functions17
  9. The first new gTLDs from the 2012 round are delegated12
  10. ICANN opens applications for new generic top-level domains12
  11. The first internationalized country-code TLDs, in Arabic script, become available4
  12. WIPO's first UDRP case ends with worldwrestlingfederation.com transferred to the wrestling company40
  13. Network Solutions starts charging $100 for a two-year registration9
  14. symbolics.com becomes the first registered .com name7
  15. Paul Mockapetris describes domain names in RFC 8825

What it means for your website

The domain name is the one part of a website that goes with you when you change builders, hosts or designers. A few habits protect it.

  • Register it in your own name. You or your business should be the registrant, not your web designer or agency. ICANN’s security committee suggests that when a name belongs to an organization, its contacts should not be tied to any one employee.41 Our page on who owns your website covers what else to check.
  • Turn on auto-renew and keep the card current. ICANN lists keeping payment details up to date as a registrant’s job when auto-renew is on.19 A lapsed name can take your site and email offline within days of expiry.38
  • Keep the registrar login yourself. Use a strong, unique password and multi-factor authentication if your registrar offers it. Put the contact email on a different domain from the one you are protecting, so renewal notices still reach you if that domain fails.41
  • Leave the transfer lock on. The clientTransferProhibited status blocks transfers you did not ask for, and you can lift it when you want to move.41
  • Check the renewal price, not only the first-year price. The .com wholesale price rises to $10.97 on November 1, 2026.22 Our news story on the increase compares what registrars charge to renew.
  • Plan transfers around the 60-day rules. A name registered or transferred in the last 60 days may not move yet.37 Our domain transfer guide walks through the steps.

See also

References

  1. RFC 1034: Domain names, concepts and facilities. P. Mockapetris, Internet Engineering Task Force, RFC Editor. 1987-11. accessed October 22, 2026.
  2. RFC 1035: Domain names, implementation and specification. P. Mockapetris, Internet Engineering Task Force, RFC Editor. 1987-11. accessed October 22, 2026.
  3. RFC 5890: Internationalized Domain Names for Applications (IDNA): Definitions and Document Framework. J. Klensin, Internet Engineering Task Force, RFC Editor. 2010-08. accessed October 22, 2026.
  4. First IDN ccTLDs Available. ICANN. 2010-05-05. accessed October 22, 2026.
  5. RFC 882: Domain names, concepts and facilities. P. Mockapetris, RFC Editor. 1983-11. accessed October 22, 2026.
  6. RFC 920: Domain Requirements. J. Postel and J. Reynolds, RFC Editor. 1984-10. accessed October 22, 2026.
  7. Fizzy bubbles at the ready: Dot-com celebrates 30th birthday. Kelly Fiveash, The Register. 2015-03-14. accessed October 22, 2026.
  8. RDAP record for symbolics.com. Verisign RDAP service. accessed October 22, 2026.
  9. Amendment 4 to the Cooperative Agreement between Network Solutions and the U.S. Government. ICANN archive. 1995-09-13. accessed October 22, 2026.
  10. RFC 1591: Domain Name System Structure and Delegation. J. Postel, RFC Editor. 1994-03. accessed October 22, 2026.
  11. Root Zone Database (Top-Level Domain Registry). Internet Assigned Numbers Authority. accessed October 22, 2026.
  12. About the Program. ICANN. accessed October 22, 2026.
  13. New gTLD Program Statistics. ICANN. 2026-08-31. accessed October 22, 2026.
  14. ICANN Reveals 2026 Round Applications for New Generic Top-Level Domains. ICANN. 2026-10-07. accessed October 22, 2026.
  15. Welcome to ICANN. ICANN. accessed October 22, 2026.
  16. About us. Internet Assigned Numbers Authority. accessed October 22, 2026.
  17. IANA Stewardship Transition completed. Internet Assigned Numbers Authority. 2016-10-01. accessed October 22, 2026.
  18. The Domain Name Registration Process. ICANN. accessed October 22, 2026.
  19. Registrants' Benefits and Responsibilities. ICANN. accessed October 22, 2026.
  20. Registrar Accreditation: History of the Shared Registry System. ICANN. accessed October 22, 2026.
  21. VeriSign, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024. VeriSign, Inc., U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 2025. accessed October 22, 2026.
  22. Verisign Reports First Quarter 2026 Results. Verisign. 2026-04-23. accessed October 22, 2026.
  23. Letter to ICANN-accredited registrars on approved fiscal year 2027 registrar fees. ICANN. 2026-07-30. accessed October 22, 2026.
  24. ICANN and Verisign Announce Proposed Amendment to .COM Registry Agreement. ICANN. 2020-01-03. accessed October 22, 2026.
  25. Verisign Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2020 Results. Verisign. 2021-02-11. accessed October 22, 2026.
  26. Verisign Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2021 Results. Verisign. 2022-02-10. accessed October 22, 2026.
  27. Verisign Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2022 Results. Verisign. 2023-02-09. accessed October 22, 2026.
  28. Verisign Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Results. Verisign. 2024-02-08. accessed October 22, 2026.
  29. DNIB.com Reports Internet Has 401.6 Million Domain Name Registrations at the End of the Second Quarter of 2026. Verisign. 2026-07-23. accessed October 22, 2026.
  30. RFC 3912: WHOIS Protocol Specification. L. Daigle, Internet Engineering Task Force, RFC Editor. 2004-09. accessed October 22, 2026.
  31. RFC 9082: Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP) Query Format. S. Hollenbeck and A. Newton, Internet Engineering Task Force, RFC Editor. 2021-06. accessed October 22, 2026.
  32. ICANN Update: Launching RDAP; Sunsetting WHOIS. ICANN. 2025-01-27. accessed October 22, 2026.
  33. Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP). ICANN. accessed October 22, 2026.
  34. Approved Resolutions, Special Meeting of the ICANN Board. ICANN. 2018-05-17. accessed October 22, 2026.
  35. Press Release: ICANN Launches Global Service to Simplify Requests for Nonpublic Domain Name Registration Data. ICANN. 2023-11-28. accessed October 22, 2026.
  36. ICANN Registration Data Policy Now in Effect for Contracted Parties. ICANN. 2025-08-21. accessed October 22, 2026.
  37. Transfer Policy (updated 21 February 2024). ICANN. 2024-02-21. accessed October 22, 2026.
  38. Expired Registration Recovery Policy (updated 21 February 2024). ICANN. 2024-02-21. accessed October 22, 2026.
  39. Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy. ICANN. 1999-10-24. accessed October 22, 2026.
  40. World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. v. Michael Bosman, Case No. D99-0001. WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center. 2000-01-14. accessed October 22, 2026.
  41. SAC 044: A Registrant's Guide to Protecting Domain Name Registration Accounts. ICANN Security and Stability Advisory Committee. 2010-11-05. accessed October 22, 2026.

Web Building Encyclopedia. First published October 22, 2026. Last reviewed October 22, 2026. Every fact on this page is linked to a source we opened. Spotted an error? Write to [email protected].