WHOIS Lookups: What Domain Registration Data Tells You

Every domain name has registration data: who registered it, when, through which registrar, and when it expires. This data is stored in the WHOIS database and is publicly queryable. Or at least, it used to be fully public. GDPR changed that in 2018, and now much of the registrant information is redacted. But the data that remains is still useful. What WHOIS tells you A WHOIS lookup on a domain returns: Domain name and status. Whether the domain is active, in a redemption period (recently expired and recoverable), or pending delete. Registration dates. Created date, updated date, and expiration date. The created date tells you how old the domain is. Older domains generally have more authority for SEO purposes. Registrar. Which company the domain was registered through (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare, etc.). This is useful when you need to transfer a domain or resolve DNS issues. Name servers. Which DNS servers are authoritative for the domain. This tells you where the domain's DNS is hos