The domain name I want is unavailable, but there’s no website there when I type it into my browser. What gives?

Domain names and websites are actually separate things. Here’s a brief explanation:

A website is just a collection of files that are linked together and live on the same server. The server that hosts your website files has an “address” that other computers can use to get to it. It’s called an IP Address, and it consists of numbers that are really hard for humans to remember.

Domain names are essentially aliases for those strings of numbers – they make it easier for us to remember where a website’s files live. Big companies called registrars handle the registration of domain names, and keep big databases that remember which domain names point to which numerical server addresses. For example:

• www.google.com -> 216.58.194.164

Here’s the thing: If a domain name is available, anyone can register it… and they don’t have to point it to a server. They can simply register the domain name and own it.

There are lots of reasons to do this – some people register a domain in advance because they want to reserve it, but aren’t ready to build their website yet (I actually recommend doing this for your name). Others register lots of domain names in hopes of selling them for a profit later.

Either way, the bottom line is that if a domain is registered, you won’t be able to register it for yourself – regardless of whether or not there’s a website it points to. Such is the way of the world :/