A domain registrar is a company accredited to sell and manage domain name registrations. When you register a domain, the registrar records your ownership with the registry that runs that extension, and keeps the record updated while you own the name.
The four roles in every registration
- Registry. The organisation that runs an extension, such as .com or .org, and holds the master database for it.
- Registrar. The accredited company that sells registrations to the public and manages the records.
- Reseller. A provider that offers registrations through its own platform, with the registrar behind the scenes. Syllhost offers domains this way: you register and manage from the client area, and the platform handles the registrar side.
- Registrant. You, the owner. Your name, email and address go on the record, and verification mail goes to your email address.
What a registrar actually does
A registrar processes the registration, collects the yearly fee, lets you manage nameservers and contact details, handles renewals, and processes transfers to another registrar. It also enforces verification: when a registrant email changes, a verification message goes to the new address, and an unverified domain can be suspended.
Choosing where to register
- Price transparency. Compare the registration price and the renewal price, not just the first year.
- Control. You should be able to change nameservers and contact details yourself.
- Transfers. Moving to another registrar should be possible; see how domain transfers work.
- Support. Registration problems are time-sensitive, so reachable support matters.
Checking a registrar's work
Use a WHOIS lookup to verify a registration record any time; see how to find out who owns a domain name. If a name shows the wrong owner or the wrong expiry date, contact the registrar that holds it. And if you sell domains yourself, the API registration guide shows how registrations can be automated.
The registrar is the shop, the registry is the wholesaler, and you are the owner. Knowing which is which makes every domain decision clearer.