Back in 2022, we announced that we’d secured ICANN accreditation, which would eventually lead to a big behind-the-scenes change in the way that we provide a range of international domains.
We are delighted to say that “eventually” has started to arrive. After a lot of work to comply with ICANN requirements, and to be technically ready to change the way we operate, we are now directly registering customers’ .com and .org domains with the registry.
This new arrangement does away with resellers , or middlemen who sit between us and ICANN. While resellers take on some compliance and technical responsibilities on behalf of retailers like us, they are also powerful price-setters. And besides, we have plenty of experience as an accredited registrar of other domains like .nz (which is overseen by NZ’s Domain Name Commission, a kind of mini-ICANN). So we knew we could do this.
How .com and .org domain registrations work now
Starting from 12 March, any .com or .org domains that are added to your SiteHost account are registered with us, rather than a reseller. We are the registrar, with a direct relationship to the registry. This applies to:
Any new
.comor.orgdomains that you register, andAny
.comor.orgdomains that you transfer to us.
There’s more about registering and transferring domains on our website.
What’s not changing, yet
Update, May 2024: There have been more developments since we wrote this section. You now have the option to switch your domains' registration directly to us when you renew. This applies to .com, .org, .net, and a growing list of other TLDs.
Our plans for international domains go further than today’s announcement, but we are typically cautious when it comes to change. In our usual style we’ve been careful not to bite off more than we can chew. For now we have not ended our reseller relationships, and there is no change to:
Other ICANN-governed TLDs, e.g.
.net.Any domains that were registered with us before 12 March 2024.
When you go through routine renewal, this will not lead to a change of registrar. Renewals will go through the same channel as the registration or transfer that brought the domain into SiteHost. We will let customers know before this process changes.
Name games: Who “we” are
When we work with ICANN, we do so as Webslice International. This is probably an unfamiliar name to you but be assured that it is us (or, more precisely, one of our sister companies).
We’ve operated multiple brands for many years now, and Webslice has been one of them since 2017. Its original incarnation disappeared in 2021 (when we merged it into MyHost) but we kept the name for a new, internationally-focused endeavour. Nothing’s going to change with the way SiteHost operates, or who owns us, or anything else like that.
Since ICANN deals with international TLDs we chose our new international face, Webslice, to go through ICANN accreditation. Don’t let the label fool you, though: SiteHost and Webslice are the same team, with the same owners.
More progress to make
Because we’re not rushing anything, there is still a lot more to do. Each new step will increase the amount of control that we have in a complicated and sometimes rigid industry. We’ve written a few times about the length of domain supply chains, and the benefits of shortening them. We will keep working on that, and get the news out when there’s something new to share.