Three parties make domain registration work:

• ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) sets the overall policy rules for how domain names work globally and accredits the companies allowed to sell them.

• Registries operate individual TLDs. They maintain the authoritative database of every domain registered under that TLD and set its wholesale pricing.

• Registrars — ICANN-accredited companies like NameBright — are who you actually buy from. A registrar sells registrations on the registry's behalf, handles your account and billing, and is your point of contact for changes, renewals, and transfers.

When you register a domain, your registrar submits that registration to the relevant registry, which adds it to the TLD's official record. That's also why domain transfers move you between registrars, not between registries; the registry doesn't change, only who manages your registration with them does.