GlossaryDomain terminology,
Domain terminology,
demystified.
Plain-English definitions for every term that comes up when you own more than a couple of domains.
No credit card. Free for personal portfolios.
TLD (Top-Level Domain)
The bit after the final dot in a domain name.
- The TLD is the rightmost label in a domain name. Common examples include .com, .net, .org, and .io. TLDs are categorised into generic TLDs (gTLDs) like .com and .app, country-code TLDs (ccTLDs) like .us and .uk, and new TLDs (nTLDs) like .xyz. Each TLD is operated by a registry, which sets pricing and rules for that TLD.
ccTLD (Country-Code Top-Level Domain)
A two-letter TLD tied to a country.
- ccTLDs are TLDs reserved for countries or territories, like .uk, .de, .au, .ca, and .ai. Some ccTLDs have residency requirements (.au and .ca historically required local presence). Others are de facto open (.io, .ai, .co). ccTLDs can have unusual renewal pricing because the registry is national.
Registry
The operator of a TLD.
- A registry runs a TLD, maintains the canonical record of domains under it, and sets wholesale pricing. Examples: Verisign runs .com and .net. Public Interest Registry runs .org. .uk is run by Nominet. The registry is not who you buy from. You buy from a registrar.
Registrar
The retailer who sells domains to you.
- A registrar is an ICANN-accredited (or country-accredited) reseller that sells domains under one or more TLDs. Examples: GoDaddy, Porkbun, Namecheap, Cloudflare Registrar. Registrars set retail pricing, run the customer-facing dashboard, and handle renewals, transfers, and contact info management. Lemon Domains has first-class integrations with several registrars.
Registrant
The person or organisation that owns the domain.
- The registrant is the legal holder of a domain. Registrant contact info is recorded by the registrar and (depending on TLD) appears in WHOIS unless privacy is enabled. Changing registrant is sometimes treated as a transfer with its own rules.
WHOIS
The public lookup for who owns a domain.
- WHOIS is a public protocol that returns ownership and contact information for a domain. With WHOIS privacy enabled (now common), the registrar substitutes its own contact info for yours. Some TLDs (notably ccTLDs in the EU) require redacted WHOIS by default due to GDPR. Bulk WHOIS lookups have rate limits.
Expiry date
The date your registration ends.
- The expiry date is the moment your control of the domain lapses unless renewed. After expiry, most TLDs enter a grace period (typically 30 days) where you can still renew at normal price. After that comes the redemption period (typically 30 days, much higher fee), then the domain enters pending delete and is released to the open market roughly 75 days after expiry.
Auto-renew
Setting the registrar to renew the domain automatically.
- Auto-renew is the setting that charges your credit card at the registrar shortly before expiry to renew the domain for another year (or more). Useful for names you definitely want to keep. Dangerous for names you forgot you owned. Lemon Domains surfaces auto-renew status per domain so you can audit it.
Grace period
The window after expiry where you can still renew at normal price.
- Most TLDs offer a grace period of around 30 days after expiry. During this window, you can renew the domain at the standard renewal price. After the grace period, you typically enter the redemption period, which charges a much higher fee. Specific durations vary by TLD.
Redemption period
The expensive recovery window after grace expires.
- After the grace period, expired domains enter redemption. You can still recover the domain, but the registrar will charge a redemption fee (often $80-150 USD) on top of the renewal cost. Redemption typically lasts 30 days. After that, the domain is queued for deletion.
Drop
Letting a domain expire without renewing.
- Dropping a domain means deliberately not renewing it, allowing it to expire and eventually return to the available pool. Used as a verb ("I dropped that one") and as a noun ("the drop date is next month"). See the Lemon Domains guide on when to drop a domain.
Transfer auth code (EPP code)
The password that authorises a domain transfer.
- A transfer auth code (also called an EPP code or auth info) is a unique code issued by your current registrar that authorises moving the domain to a new registrar. You request it from the source registrar and provide it to the destination registrar to start the transfer.
ICANN
The body that oversees the global domain system.
- The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is the non-profit that coordinates the global domain name system. It accredits registrars, sets policies that registrars must follow, and oversees the introduction of new TLDs.
ICANN fee
A small fee added to most domain registrations.
- Registrars typically add an ICANN fee (around $0.18 USD per year for most gTLDs) on top of the registration price. The fee funds ICANN's operations. It is usually disclosed at checkout.
Domain portfolio
The collection of domains you own.
- A domain portfolio is the set of domain names registered to one owner, often spread across multiple registrars and TLDs. Managing a portfolio means tracking expiry, renewal cost, and category. Lemon Domains is a domain portfolio manager designed exactly for this.
Domain investor (domainer)
Someone who buys and sells domains as an asset class.
- Domain investors (often called domainers) hold domains speculatively, hoping to sell them at a markup. Investor portfolios tend to be large (hundreds to thousands of names), spread across many registrars, and organised by category (3L .com, brandable, geo).
Drop-catch
Racing to register a domain the moment it becomes available.
- Drop-catching is the practice of attempting to register an expiring domain at the exact moment it returns to the available pool. Specialised services (NameJet, DropCatch, GoDaddy Auctions, Park.io) try to grab valuable names on behalf of customers.
Renewal price
What you pay each year to keep a domain.
- Renewal pricing can be very different from first-year pricing. Some registrars run aggressive promos on year one and quietly hike renewals. Always check the renewal price before buying, especially for new TLDs.
MCP (Model Context Protocol)
A standard for connecting AI assistants to external data and tools.
- Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard that lets AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and ChatGPT Desktop call external tools and read external data. Lemon Domains ships an MCP server so you can ask your AI about your domain portfolio. See the Lemon Domains MCP server page for details.
Sub-account
An additional account at the same registrar, often for different identities or clients.
- Many registrars let you maintain multiple accounts under one login or with a shared payment method. Common for agencies (one sub-account per client) and investors (separating personal and business holdings). Lemon Domains supports sub-accounts with friendly labels.
Missing a term? Tell us and we will add it.
Stop letting domains slip through the cracks.
Five minutes to import. A lifetime of not refreshing five registrar tabs.