The 10 fields and concepts you'll meet in the response — defined in plain English, each with a real example value.
Entries in the Domain Name System that provide information about a domain, including IP addresses, mail servers, and verification data.
Common record types include A (IPv4 address), AAAA (IPv6), MX (mail servers), TXT (text data for verification), CNAME (alias), and NS (nameservers). Each record has a TTL that determines caching duration.
ExampleA record: example.com → 93.184.216.34, MX record: example.com → mail.example.com
Servers that store and provide DNS records for a domain, directing queries to the correct IP addresses.
When you register a domain, you specify nameservers that will authoritatively answer DNS queries for that domain. Changing nameservers (pointing to different DNS providers) is how you switch hosting or use services like Cloudflare.
Examplenameservers: ns1.example.com, ns2.example.com
Time To Live—the duration (in seconds) that a DNS record should be cached before checking for updates.
A TTL of 3600 means the record is cached for 1 hour. Lower TTLs enable faster DNS changes but increase query load on nameservers. Before making DNS changes, reduce TTL ahead of time so the change propagates faster.
ExampleTTL: 3600 (1 hour), TTL: 86400 (24 hours)
A domain that is part of a larger domain, appearing before the primary domain name.
In blog.example.com, "blog" is the subdomain. Subdomains can have their own DNS records and point to different servers. They're useful for organizing services (mail.example.com for email, www.example.com for website).
Exampleblog.example.com, api.example.com, mail.example.com
A protocol and database system for querying domain registration information, including owner, registrar, and expiration date.
WHOIS data historically showed full registrant contact details, but GDPR now requires redaction of personal information for many TLDs. Registration and expiration dates, nameservers, and registrar information remain public.
ExampleWHOIS query for example.com returns registrar, creation date, expiration date
A company authorized to register and manage domain names on behalf of customers.
Registrars like GoDaddy, Namecheap, and Google Domains are accredited by ICANN or country-code registries. They provide interfaces for purchasing domains, managing DNS records, and renewing registrations. Registrars pay wholesale prices to registries and set their own retail prices.
Exampleregistrar: "GoDaddy.com, LLC", registrar: "Namecheap, Inc."
Top-Level Domain—the last segment of a domain name, like .com, .org, or .io.
Generic TLDs (gTLDs) include .com, .net, .org. Country-code TLDs (ccTLDs) represent countries (.us, .uk, .jp). New gTLDs include .app, .dev, .ai. Each TLD has its own registry, pricing, and rules.
ExampleIn example.com, ".com" is the TLD
The date when a domain registration expires, after which it enters a grace period and may be deleted or auctioned.
Domains typically renew annually. After expiration, there's a ~30-day grace period for renewal, then a ~30-day redemption period (with higher fees), then the domain is deleted and becomes available for registration. Monitoring expiration dates helps catch valuable domains.
A domain name designated as highly valuable by the registry, available at significantly higher prices than standard registration.
Premium domains are short, contain common words, or are highly brandable. Registries set premium pricing (often $100s-$1000s per year) based on perceived value. These domains may be newly released or previously registered and reclaimed by the registry.
Examplecars.com (premium), app.io (premium) vs mycompany.com (standard)
A digital certificate that encrypts communication between a website and its visitors, displayed as HTTPS in browsers.
SSL/TLS certificates prove domain ownership and enable encrypted connections. Certificate Authorities (CAs) issue certificates after verifying domain control. Let's Encrypt provides free automated certificates. Modern browsers warn users about sites without HTTPS.
ExampleCertificate: issued by Let's Encrypt, expires 2025-03-15
