Look up the registrar, current status, name servers and expiry date of any domain name. Useful before you buy a domain, chase one that is expiring, or work out where a site is hosted.
A WHOIS record looks technical, but four fields carry most of the useful information.
The company the domain is registered through. If you are transferring a domain to us, this is who you unlock it with and request the authorisation code from.
How long the domain has existed and when it lapses. An old domain with years of history carries more weight with search engines than a brand new one.
Where the domain currently points. This tells you which company is actually serving the website and email, which is often different from the registrar.
Flags such as clientTransferProhibited or redemptionPeriod. They explain why a transfer is being refused or whether an expired domain can still be recovered.
A thirty second lookup often answers a question that would otherwise take a support ticket.
If the name you want is taken, WHOIS shows when it expires. A domain nobody has renewed in years may become available soon, and it saves you paying a broker for a name that is about to drop.
Check the domain is unlocked and that the expiry date is not within the registry lock window. Getting this right first avoids a failed transfer and a wasted week.
If email or the website stopped working, the name servers in WHOIS tell you where DNS is actually being served from. Very often it is not where the owner thinks it is.
Registries can suspend a domain if the registrant contact details cannot be verified. Look yourself up once a year and make sure the email on file still works.
Since GDPR came into force, most registries redact personal contact details from public WHOIS and show the registrar or a privacy service instead. Many owners also buy ID protection deliberately. The registrar, dates, status codes and name servers are still public.
Check the expiry date first. If it is close and the site looks abandoned, it may drop and become available again, though there is no guarantee. Otherwise, try a different extension, a slightly different name, or ask us and we will suggest alternatives that are actually free.
It is a registrar lock, and it is switched on by default to stop a domain being moved without your permission. To transfer the domain away you log in to your current registrar and unlock it yourself. It is not a penalty or a restriction placed on you.
Usually yes, if you act quickly. Most extensions have a grace period after expiry during which you can renew at the normal price, followed by a redemption period where a recovery fee applies. Once both windows close the domain is released. Contact us the same day you notice.
The data comes live from the registry or registrar responsible for that extension, so it is as current as their records. Some country extensions publish less detail than others, which is why a few fields may be empty for certain domains.
See what it costs to register or transfer it. Every extension we sell is listed with its registration, transfer and renewal price side by side.
