The words you meet when buying or managing a domain, defined plainly — by what they mean for you, not by the textbook.
- A record
- A DNS setting that points your domain to a server’s IP address. Set this when your host gives you an IP to connect your domain to a website.
- Aftermarket
- The market for domains that are already registered and being resold by their owner, rather than freshly registered from a registrar.
- Auto-renew
- A setting that charges your card to renew the domain before it expires, so you do not lose it by forgetting. Leave it on for any name you care about.
- ccTLD
- A country-code top-level domain — the two-letter ending tied to a country, like .uk, .de, or .io (which belongs to the British Indian Ocean Territory).
- CNAME record
- A DNS setting that points one domain or subdomain at another name (rather than an IP). Common for connecting a subdomain to a hosted service.
- DNS
- The Domain Name System — the internet’s address book that translates a domain you type into the server address a browser actually connects to.
- DNSSEC
- An optional security layer that cryptographically signs your DNS records so they cannot be tampered with in transit.
- Drop-catching
- Trying to register a domain at the exact moment it expires and becomes available again, usually using an automated backorder service.
- EPP / auth code
- The transfer authorisation code your current registrar gives you to move a domain to a different registrar. Treat it like a password.
- Expired domain
- A previously registered domain whose owner did not renew it. After a grace and redemption period it either returns to its owner or becomes available again.
- gTLD
- A generic top-level domain — an ending not tied to a country, such as .com, .org, .net, or newer ones like .app and .shop.
- ICANN
- The non-profit that coordinates the global domain name system and accredits the registrars you can buy domains from.
- MX record
- A DNS setting that tells the internet which mail server handles email for your domain. You set this when configuring email.
- Nameserver
- The server that holds your domain’s DNS records. Pointing your domain at a host usually means changing its nameservers.
- Premium domain
- A short, memorable, or keyword-rich name priced well above standard registration — either by the registry or because an owner is reselling it.
- Redemption period
- A roughly 30-day window after a domain expires when only the original owner can recover it, usually for a higher redemption fee.
- Registrar
- A company accredited to sell and manage domain registrations — for example Cloudflare, Porkbun, Namecheap, or GoDaddy.
- Registry
- The organisation that operates a top-level domain and sets its wholesale price — for example Verisign runs .com.
- Renewal price
- What you pay each year after the first. It is often higher than the first-year promo, so always check it before you buy.
- Subdomain
- A prefix on your domain, like blog.example.com or shop.example.com. You create these in DNS at no extra registration cost.
- TLD
- The top-level domain — the ending of a domain name, the part after the final dot, such as .com or .org.
- TTL
- Time To Live — how long DNS resolvers cache a record before checking again. Lower it before a planned change so updates propagate faster.
- UDRP
- The Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy — the process a trademark holder uses to challenge a domain registered in bad faith.
- WHOIS
- A public lookup of who registered a domain and when it expires. Privacy protection replaces your personal details with the registrar’s.
- WHOIS privacy
- A service that hides your name, address, email, and phone from the public WHOIS record. Many registrars now include it free.