Domains have become a fundamental part of the online world. They are what makes online platforms easily recognizable and accessible. When starting out a new online business or even just a side project, you want to get the optimal domain name. One that fits your idea perfectly.
And while the following article won't help you come up with a name, it will show you multiple options for checking the availability of any given domain, ordered from easiest to most advanced.
Option 1: Namecheap
The popular domain registrant "Namecheap" offers checking for available domain names right on their website. This is by far the easiest method to get started with.
There is a downside to this, however. Since all of your requests are running through Namecheap's servers, they are able to see what domains you are searching for. In that case, they could register the domain before you, only to sell it to you again at a higher price later on.
This practice is known as domain name front running. Fortunately, it is not very common and Namecheap does not seem to do it. If you, however, want to be as safe as possible or check large quantities of domains, you should continue on reading.
Option 2: whois CLI tool
If you are familiar with Linux, you can use the whois CLI program. It is part of Debian's repositories and also available for many other distros.
The usage is also rather simple, as you can just type whois example.com to get information on a domain.
Option 3: Checket
I actually came up with a program of my own to check domains for their availability in bulk. The result is called is a simple Python program called Checket. Compared to the other options, it really shines when checking larger quantities of domains. It's free to use, so give it a shot if you'd like. No guarantees for its reliability, though ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
