Who is this domain registered with?

Worth knowing

Three things to check on your own domain.

• The expiry date. Expired domains are one of the commonest ways a small business loses its website and email overnight — usually because the card on file changed. Turn on auto-renew, and consider renewing for several years.
• The registrar. Make sure you know which company it is and can log in to it. A domain registered by a former web designer, in their account, is not really yours.
• The transfer lock. client transfer prohibited is what you want to see. It stops anybody moving the domain away without your say-so.

Questions people ask first

Why can I not see who owns a domain?

Since GDPR in 2018, registrars hide personal details by default. Companies sometimes still show an organisation name. To contact an owner, use the registrar’s contact form.

What is RDAP?

The modern replacement for WHOIS: the same registry records, in a structured format. We use it wherever the registry offers it, and classic WHOIS where it does not.

Does domain age help SEO?

Not directly — Google has said so. What comes with age, links and history, does help, which is what the domain authority checker looks at.