Domain Basics

What Is a Domain Registrar? Untangling Registry, Registrar and Web Host

Registry, registrar and web host all sound similar but do completely different jobs — here's who actually controls what when you register a domain.

Distinct roles behind every domain: registry, registrar, host

Renewable registration term, not permanent domain ownership

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In short

A domain registrar is an ICANN-accredited company that sells domain name registrations to the public and manages the renewal, transfer and DNS settings on your behalf. It's different from the registry, which is the organization that runs the master database for a top-level domain like .com, and different again from your web host, which stores and serves your website's files once your domain points to it.

Registering a domain gets you a renewable claim to that name for a fixed term, not permanent ownership — which is why renewal reminders matter as much as the initial purchase.

Buying a domain name involves at least three separate roles, even though most people only ever interact with one of them directly. The registry maintains the authoritative master list of every domain registered under a given extension — .com, .org, .net, and so on — and sets the rules and wholesale pricing for that extension. Registrars are the accredited companies that actually sell registrations to the public, acting as the middleman between you and the registry for buying, renewing and transferring a domain. A web host is a separate service entirely, storing your website's files and serving them to visitors.

In practice, a lot of people register a domain and buy hosting from the same company and never notice the distinction — until they need to move a domain to a new registrar, point it at a different host, or figure out why a renewal invoice came from somewhere unexpected. Knowing which company holds which piece matters most at exactly those moments: transferring a domain, switching web hosts, or troubleshooting DNS. Hosting Cheap keeps this simple by handling domain registration and hosting together when you want it, while still respecting that they're functionally separate services underneath.

What Is a Domain Registrar in the Chain From Registry to Website?

A domain registrar is the company you actually deal with to register, renew, or transfer a domain name. It's accredited by ICANN (or the relevant country-code authority for a ccTLD) to interact with the registry on your behalf — submitting your registration, updating your WHOIS contact details, and processing changes like nameserver updates when you point your domain at a new host.

The registrar is also who sends renewal reminders, processes payment for another registration term, and handles a domain transfer if you ever move to a different provider. It's the layer between you as the domain holder and the much larger, more technical registry infrastructure running underneath every extension.

The Registry: Who Actually Runs a Top-Level Domain

Every top-level domain — .com, .org, .net, and every country-code and newer extension — has a registry behind it: the organization responsible for maintaining the master database of every domain registered under that extension, operating the technical infrastructure that makes the whole system resolve correctly, and setting the rules and wholesale price registrars pay. Verisign runs .com and .net, for example, while other organizations run other extensions.

Individuals and businesses almost never interact with a registry directly — that's specifically the registrar's job. But understanding that the registry exists explains why domain pricing varies by extension (each registry sets its own wholesale rate) and why some extensions have extra registration requirements a registrar has to enforce on the registry's behalf.

The Registrar: Your Actual Point of Contact for Buying and Managing a Domain

The registrar is the business-facing side of domain registration — the company whose website you actually visit to search for and buy a domain, whose dashboard shows your renewal date, and whose support team you'd contact if a domain's DNS settings need to change. Registrars compete on price, service and features, but they're all ultimately submitting the same registration to the same registry behind the scenes.

A registrar also manages the technical handoffs that make a domain actually point somewhere useful: updating nameservers so your domain resolves to your web host's servers, keeping WHOIS contact information current, and processing a transfer if you move your domain to a different registrar later on.

The Web Host: A Separate Job From Registering Your Domain

A web host is the company that stores your website's actual files — pages, images, databases — on a server and serves them to anyone who visits your domain. Registering a domain and hosting a website are two different services, even when it's convenient to buy both from the same company, and pointing a domain at a host is the technical link (via DNS) that connects the two.

Hosting Cheap offers both together for convenience — domain registration alongside NVMe SSD hosting with free auto-renewing SSL — but the underlying separation still applies: your domain registration and your hosting account are managed independently, which is exactly what makes it possible to move either one without disturbing the other if you ever need to.

What Is a Domain Registrar? Registrar vs Host vs Registry

Domain and Hosting, Handled Together Without the Confusion

Knowing the difference between a registry, a registrar and a web host mainly pays off at the moments that actually matter: renewing on time, pointing a domain at new hosting, or transferring a domain without losing it.

Hosting Cheap makes the registrar and host side straightforward, with domain management and NVMe SSD hosting available together and 24/7 human support for whichever part of the setup you have a question about.

Registry runs the TLD; registrar sells and manages your registration
Web hosting is a separate service that stores and serves your site
Domain registration is a renewable term, not permanent ownership
24/7 human support for domain, DNS and hosting questions

Why Hosting Cheap

What you get

Domain and hosting together

Free auto-renewing SSL

Once your domain points at your hosting, SSL is included and renews automatically.

Straightforward DNS management

Point your domain at your hosting or elsewhere without needing to be a DNS expert.

Free managed migration

Bring an existing site over while keeping your domain registered wherever you prefer.

24/7 human support

Real people to help with registrar, DNS or hosting questions.

30-day money-back guarantee

Test your hosting setup risk-free after your domain is pointed over.

How It Works

Get set up in a few steps

Register or transfer your domain

Work with a registrar to register a new domain or transfer an existing one.

Point it at your hosting

Update nameservers or DNS records so your domain resolves to your web host.

Launch with free SSL

Go live with free auto-renewing SSL securing your domain automatically.

Included

Everything you need, on every plan

A registry runs the master database for a top-level domain
A registrar sells and manages domain registrations to the public
A web host stores and serves your website's files separately
Domain registration is a renewable term, not permanent ownership
Registrars handle renewals, transfers and WHOIS contact details
Pointing a domain at hosting happens through DNS, not the registrar alone
Free auto-renewing SSL applies once your domain is hosted
24/7 human support for domain and hosting questions

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What is a domain registrar?

A domain registrar is an ICANN-accredited company that sells domain registrations to the public and manages renewals, transfers and DNS changes on your behalf.

What's the difference between a registrar and a registry?

A registry runs the master database and technical infrastructure for an entire top-level domain, like .com. A registrar is the company you actually buy a registration from, which then deals with the registry for you.

Is my domain registrar the same as my web host?

Not necessarily. A registrar handles your domain registration; a web host stores and serves your website's files. They're separate services, even when bought from the same company.

Do I own my domain name once I register it?

You hold a renewable registration for a fixed term, not permanent ownership. Keeping it requires renewing with your registrar before it expires.

Can I use one company for my domain and a different one for hosting?

Yes. You just point your domain's DNS settings at whichever host you're using, regardless of which registrar manages the registration.

How do I point my domain at my hosting account?

Update your domain's nameservers or DNS records through your registrar to point at your host's servers. 24/7 human support can walk through the exact settings.

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