What is a Domain Registrar?
A Domain Registrar is an accredited company that will allow you to register and pay for a domain name. A Registrar may be licensed to sell one or more TLDs (also see What is a TLD.) A Registrar can also license 'resellers' - usually web hosting or web design firms - to sell domain names on their behalf.
Registrar for .ie
- There is only one Registrar for .ie domain names and that is iedr.ie
- iedr.ie ONLY sell the .ie domain
- IEDR sell the .ie domain name for €62 + VAT per annum
- iedr.ie also licenses resellers (mainly webhosts) who can sell an .ie domain name to you for (usually) a LOT LESS. Shop around.
- You can go ahead and buy a .ie domain from an approved Irish reseller. Your rights are protected under Irish law. (Most people will buy their webhosting and domain name from the same provider.)
Registrars for all the rest (eg .com, .net, .info, .biz, .org, .co.uk, .eu, etc)
There are hundreds of Registrars in this category, however make sure you choose one from the ICANN approved list of Top Level Registrars. By doing this, you will always own and control your (non-ie) domain name. Blacknight.ie is a top level registrar based in Ireland. GoDaddy.com is also a popular choice.
ALWAYS buy non .ie domains from a top level registrar, and always do it yourself.
- The person who performs the registration will supply an email address and password to complete the registration. This person is the ACCOUNT HOLDER
- The Account Holder CONTROLS ABSOLUTELY the domain name - make sure YOU are the account holder, not your web developer, webhost, reseller or brother in law
- Non .ie domains are NOT protected under Irish law, so good luck with that law suit...