Domain Name Registrar companies often provide hosting with domain registrations.

In order to purchase a domain name you have to find a Domain Name Registrar. The website has to be ICANN accredited. ICANN has the authority over generic Top Level Domains, (gTLD's), such as .com, .net, and .org. They do not have authority over country code Top Level Domains, (ccTLD's).

Even though ICANN has no authority over ccTLD's it is still common for domain name registrars to offer ccTLD services. Some domain registrars do provide hosting services to their customers also, whether it is a separate hosting plan, or free advertised hosting, it is usually offered with each domain registration.

There was no shared registration system in place until 1999. Based on principle alone, it was Network Solutions that were in charge of the .com, .net, and .org registries. In 1996, it was NetNames's idea of the domain registration standalone services.

Network Solutions forced the issue of separating the registrar and the registry. The pressure from the domain name registration businesses and other parties is what essentially created the shared registration system, which allowed multiple registrars.

The shared registration system that we know today was officially opened in November of 1999, supervised by ICANN. There are now over 500 domain name registrars available for you to register with.

VeriSign is the registry manager of two of the internets generic Top Level Domains, .com and .net. When you register either one of these domains the designated domain registrar pays an annual fee of $6.00 to VeriSign and ICANN's $0.25 administrative fee. Bulk registry registrars like GoDaddy, the most familiar, must increase the price of the domains to cover their fees and costs.

If you are a new website just starting a domain name registrar business the bulk registrar industry costs are high due to the lack of a customer base.