Domain names are used in various networking contexts and application-specific naming and addressing purposes. In general, a domain name represents an Internet Protocol (IP) resource, such as a personal computer used to access the Internet, a server computer hosting a web site, or the web site itself or any other service communicated via the Internet. In 2014, the number of active domains reached 271 million. Today's Internet presence by companies is considered a critical element of their business.
There are a number of good reasons for having a domain name. If you ever change your web host, your domain name goes with you. Your regular visitors or customers who knew your site name would not have to be informed about a change of web address (also known as “URL”). They would simply type your domain name and they'd be brought to your new site. If you are a business, a domain name gives you credibility. Few people will be willing to do business with a company that does not have its own domain name. If you get a domain name that describes your company's business or name, people can remember the name easily and can return to your site without having to consult their documents.
Registering with a domain name registrar allows a registrant to make sure that they are registered as the owner, the administrative and technical contacts. Being the owner is vital—if someone else places himself as the owner (such as your web host), he can always decide to charge you some exorbitant fee for the use of the name later. As such obtaining and retaining proper rights to a registrant's domain name portfolio is key in today's competitive landscape.
It is a disadvantage with the current domain name registration and management systems that a registrant's plurality of domain names must be individually registered and subsequently individually maintained (e.g. renewals, etc.). It is critical that registry information relating to the various domain names of a registrant be complete, consistent, accurate, and up to date. As such, it is critical that the domain name registrant keep their domain name records up to date to prevent undesirable expense, complication and worst-case loss of domain name rights. The coordination involved by the registrant in today's multi-TLD universe is becoming increasingly complex, due to the increased availability in the number and variety of domain names.