{"id":6113,"date":"2013-09-10T16:35:02","date_gmt":"2013-09-10T23:35:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.yola.com\/blog\/?p=6113"},"modified":"2013-09-10T16:36:11","modified_gmt":"2013-09-10T23:36:11","slug":"what-is-whois-and-why-does-private-registration-matter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yola.com\/blog\/what-is-whois-and-why-does-private-registration-matter\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is WHOIS and Why Does Private Registration Matter?"},"content":{"rendered":"

After reading recent blogs and tutorials on choosing a custom domain<\/a> and why it\u2019s important<\/a>, you decide to go ahead and take the leap. You search for a domain<\/a>, crossing your fingers that the one you\u2019d hoped for hasn\u2019t been taken. \u201cCONGRATULATIONS!\u201d You see in green, \u201cThe domain you chose is available.\u201d You continue on to the next page when a puzzling option is brought to your attention.<\/p>\n

\"Private
\nPrivate Registration? What is that \u2013 is it necessary?<\/em><\/p>\n

Before you decide to skip over this option, deeming it unnecessary<\/em>, we suggest you continue reading. By the end of this post, you may be thanking yourself that you did.<\/p>\n

Private registration, in essence, protects your personal information. But, before you understand what private registration is necessary, let\u2019s first take a look at why your information could be exposed.<\/p>\n

What is WHOIS?<\/strong>
\nLet\u2019s say you overhear a few friends talking about the actor James Franco. You know you\u2019ve heard the name but can\u2019t quite figure out who he is. You take to Google with a quick search of, \u201cWho is James Franco?\u201d You\u2019re promptly given details to his age, hometown, profession, etc.<\/p>\n

Google is to James Franco, as WHOIS is to a domain name. In other words, WHOIS is a public database that holds all registration information for all registered domain names.<\/p>\n

Now, let\u2019s say your initial domain search did not go quite as smoothly, and your desired domain name is taken<\/a>. You have the option to find out when the domain name is set to expire and who owns it by looking it up in the WHOIS database<\/a> and offering the owner a price or waiting until it expires and becomes available for purchase. (This happened with Medicaid<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

This information available in the WHOIS database includes the following:<\/p>\n