How To Browse Decentralised Domains

Blockchain may be starting to make the process in creating the foundation for what will eventually be web 3.0, but it's far from the finished product. The way I see blockchain products now is the way I saw the internet during the dial-up age, it was expensive, it was poor user experience, one needed technical knowledge to get the most out of your experience.

Decentralised domains are a step in the right direction for the internet, and the idea of real ownership of your part of the internet is admirable and worth pursuing. The disruptive nature of this technology does mean that these protocols may not be accepted or supported by the currently established browsers and search engines and it may take some time to gain the acceptance from the mainstream internet.

Capabilities of decentralised domains

Decentralised domains are the first URLs that can be owned by the user instead of being effectively rented from a custodial service like with traditional web domains. You purchase it once-off, and only you have the right to edit and make changes to what is hosted on that domain, only you can sell it and provide access to it, and there are no renewal fees each year to keep a hold of a decentralised domain.

At the moment Unstoppable domains are selling these domains and hosting ownership on the Ethereum blockchain and provide their user interface to create template websites on these domains with the data hosted on a decentralised file storage solution known as IPFS.

Customisation is minimal, and it's currently more of a novelty feature to have a crypto domain but it still worth owning one while they are cheap and relatively unknown. Grabbing a crypto domain is quick, and you can pay with both fiat or crypto for your domain. While you may not be actively using it, it may be worth owning, if only to secure your brand name.

Exploring the decentralised internet

Browsing these decentralised domains will remain a pain for now with search engines not adding these TLD extensions (.crypto and .zil currently running) to their index and browsers not supporting direct rendering it cuts off the average user from finding this new part of the internet.

The best way to explore the non-custodial web and enjoy websites built on p2p networks like IPFS is to use the "unstoppable domains browser" built for macOS and Windows.

Alternatively, you can find install the unstoppable domains plugin in your Chrome, Firefox or Brave browser and start surfing these sites in your favourite web browser.

Surfing on a mobile device

You can also access decentralised domains on mobile with Opera Browser announcing for Android announcing support for the domains, and you can view a .crypto website just as easily as a .com website via their native app.

How to find decentralised domains

If you're using the unstoppable domains browser or the plugin for your browser of choice it will lead you to a directory of all the decentralised domains currently running websites.

Get your decentralised domain

If you're keen on getting a decentralised domain for your brand name or yourself and messing around with a new part of the internet, you can do so at unstoppable domains or reach out to us directly, and we can secure your desired domain and migrate ownership rights to you.

Contact us

If you're having trouble getting started with a purchasing the right domain then feel free to contact us and let's see how we can help you get a domain to get started.

Are you looking to promote your business?

South African Business owners can create your free business listing on nichemarket. The more information you provide about your business, the easier it will be for your customers to find you online. Registering with nichemarket is easy; all you will need to do is head over to our sign up form and follow the instructions.

If you require a more detailed guide on how to create your profile or your listing, then we highly recommend you check out the following articles. 

• How to create a nichemarketer profile 
• How to create a nichemarket business listing 

Recommended reading

If you enjoyed this post and have a little extra time to dive deeper down the rabbit hole, why not check out the following posts about website domains.

• 9 Steps To Take Before Picking Your Domain Name
• Moz Launches Domain Authority Version 2.0 To Bring SEO Metrics Into 2019
• 6 Ways to Promote Your Web Hosting Company
• Everything you need to know about web hosting
• Does Web Hosting Affect SEO?

Tags: Blockchain, Decentralisation