I am looking for a domain name registrant. Where can I look it up?
The Whois is an easy-to-use tool for checking the availability of a .nl domain name. If the domain name is already taken, you can see who has registered it.
On the page looking up a domain name you will find more information about what a domain name is, how the Whois works and how the privacy of personal data is protected. Alternatively, you can go straight to look for a domain name via the Whois.
I would like to transfer my domain name to another registrar. What is the procedure?
To get your domain name transferred, you need the token (unique ID number) for your domain name. Your existing registrar has the token and is obliged to give it to you within five days, if you ask for it. The procedure for changing your registrar is described on the page transferring your domain name.
The details registered about me/my company are incorrect or out of date. How can I get them updated?
To update the contact details associated with your domain name, you need to contact your registrar. Read more about updating contact details.
Why is my domain name in quarantine?
When a domain name is cancelled, we aren't told the reason, so we can't tell you. You'll need to ask your registrar. The advantage of quarantine is that, if a name's cancelled by mistake, you can always get it back.
One common reason is that the contract between you and your registrar says you've got to renew the registration every year. If you haven't set up automatic renewal and you don't renew manually, the registration will expire.
Ik heb een klacht over mijn provider/registrar. Kan ik daarvoor bij SIDN terecht?
Wanneer je een klacht hebt over of een geschil met je registrar dan zijn er verschillende mogelijkheden om tot een oplossing te komen. Hierover lees je meer op pagina klacht over registrar. SIDN heeft geen formele klachtenprocedure voor het behandelen van een klacht over jouw registrar.
What conditions do I have to meet as a registrar?
Would you like to be able to register domain names for customers or for your own organisation by dealing directly with SIDN? If so, you can become a .nl registrar. Read more about the conditions and how to apply for registrar status on the page becoming a registrar.
The way people use the internet on mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) is very different from the way they use it on a PC or laptop. On mobile devices, users ‘snack’: they keep returning for short sessions often lasting less than a minute. When sitting at a PC or laptop, people stay on the net for longer, typically around half an hour. Another striking difference is that mobile users make more return visits to websites, but visit fewer different websites.
Those are among the findings of a study into trends in internet use carried out by SIDN, the company behind .nl, in association with market research agency GfK. The study involved monitoring the internet use of ten thousand users with various types of device over a period of eight months. The results of the study were presented today at the ECP Annual Congress.
Apps aren’t replacing websites
Another of the study’s conclusions is that apps are not taking over the role of domain names or websites. Apps are popular mainly on smartphones. On larger-screen devices, including tablets, people make less use of apps and more use of traditional browsers. The number of apps that people use is fairly small and only a modest proportion of Dutch businesses regard them as an important part of their on-line strategy. Notably, the popularity of bookmarks has declined in recent years. Possibly, on mobile devices, their function has to some extent been assumed by apps.
.nl popular with Dutch internet users
Dutch internet users visit .nl sites more often than sites under any other domain. The majority of unique URLs visited have a .nl extension. Users also spend most time on websites with .nl domain names. The research also shows that .nl domain names account for an even higher proportion of internet activity on mobile devices than on PCs or laptops. Tablet and phablet users visit a particularly large number of .nl domains, because, in contrast to smartphone users, they go to webshops relatively often. The webshops visited by Dutch users are more likely to have .nl extensions than the other sites they look at.
Young people would choose .nl domain names for their own business
The monitoring data and questionnaire responses indicate that consumers will continue using domain names in the future. It is particularly striking that especially .nl domain names are increasingly associated with serious internet uses. Young people visit sites with extensions other than .nl quite often for social media and gaming, but when asked what extension they would prefer if registering a domain name for their own business or professional use, they usually opt for .nl. Personal websites and e-mail addresses are declining in popularity as reasons for having your own domain name.
Third study of trends in internet use
SIDN invests a great deal in fundamental research into internet use in the Netherlands. In 2012, the company became the first in the world to investigate trends in internet use, focusing on the relationship between how people use the net and the demand for domain names. At the end of 2013, SIDN published an update to the previous year’s study report, reflecting the views of a panel of experts who were asked to comment on the trends highlighted by the survey. For the study reported today, SIDN and GfK observed the habits of a study group of ten thousand people with wired internet connections, over a period of eight months. Of the ten thousand, 1,800 also had smartphones or tablets. As well as gathering passive internet usage data, GfK asked a group of business decision-makers and consumers to complete a questionnaire regarding their attitudes to internet use in general and to domain names in particular. Finally, the questionnaire findings and the analysed observational data were presented to an expert panel for comment.
