[joe33433]

If my domains primary users are from USA, i would definitely register at Namecheap, but my primary users are from india. My understanding is that its better to register with local registrar(not godadday ofcourse) to avoid DNS latency, To my knowledge Namecheap does not have servers in india. I am new to domain registering and would appreciate your take on this issue. Thanks

[davchana]

Dns is like a big phone book with domain & its host server's ip address, all dns servers around the world routinely & frequently copy each other's changes & updates, but the additions & changes originate in TLD Owner's zone file, a master phone book for that TLD, & then it propagates to other world.

A registrar takes your money & coordinates with TLD owner to add your domain to the master phone book. In about x time, minutes to hours to few days, all servers over the world has your domain's dns information. Most of the time registrar's job is done, & now hosting provider as well as dns servers come in picture.

Now, when a user types your domain, his internet provider or dns address server looks up the relevant ip & or ask around. Closest/fastest/reliable records are then used. Your registrar usually do not control or operate these servers, but Google 8.8.4.4, Cloud flare 1.1.1.1, your ISP & such operate these.

The geographic closeness to hosting servers is preferred, but I think geographic closeness to register doesn't matter much.

[xnyan]

This is a common misconception but not correct. Namecheap offers free DNS services with your registration and there’s nothing wrong with them, but due to my individual requirements, cost and perf considerations I have my domains registered with namecheap but the nameservers are hosted on cloudflare. It’s really easy to separate the two.

[jlgaddis]

> My understanding is that its better to register with local registrar(not godadday ofcourse) to avoid DNS latency, ...

Your understanding is incorrect.

There are no issues with registering a domain via Namecheap when your users are in India (or anywhere else).

Once you've registered a domain, you can use any nameservers that you like -- regardless of their geographical location. You could use the free DNS service Namecheap includes with your domain registration, nameservers from the provider of your choice in India, or something like AWS Route 53, Cloudflare, or Google DNS, which all use anycast and have DNS servers around the globe (I don't know which of them, if any, have servers specifically in India, however).

[akent]

Buying a domain is not the same as hosting the DNS for that domain.

[plumeria]

My two cents. You can use any registrar you like. Just need to update the nameservers to a DNS provider close to your user base (e.g. AWS Route 53 in India).