12/4/2008 update: Domain Lookup now has it’s very own home.
(You can jump straight to the installation once you agree to the user agreement.)
I buy a fair few domains. I’ll be reading, say, David Pogue in the New York Times, see a phrase used in context and wonder if the corresponding domain is available.
This gave me the simple idea for Domain Lookup. The extension lets you perform one click domain searches at your registrar of choice using the selected text in your browser window.
It’s super-simple: select the text for your domain search and hit the keyboard shortcut (CTRL + SHIFT + D by default). Alternatively, you can right click for the contextual menu and hit “Domain Lookup for…”.
The extension will normalize the text, removing spaces and other illegal characters etc, then launch a new tab/window to search for the domain at your favourite registrar.
You can choose your domain registrar on the preferences panel (under Tools > Addons).
At present, the Firefox addon supports these domain name registrars:
|
|
|
You can also set the TLD(s) you wish to search for:
|
|
|
Looking for another domain registrar or TLD? Let me know and I’ll see what I can do.
Installation
If you accept the user agreement, you can go head and install the extension pronto.
If you are unfamiliar with quirks of installing Firefox addons, full instructions follow:
1. Try to install the extension.
2. The latest version of Firefox will warn you…
3. Click ‘Edit Options’ and add QualityNonsense.com to your trusted domains list.
4. Try to install again once you’ve added QualityNonsense.com to your trusted domains.
5. After the three second wait, click ‘Install Now’.
6. Restart Firefox.
Privacy & Legal
The boring-but-important stuff:
1. The extension does not log your domain searches. Your domain data is only used to trigger a lookup at your domain registrar.
2. The extension comes without warranty either expressed or implied. Use of the extension is entirely at your own risk. Neither myself, Richard Kershaw, nor Quality Nonsense Ltd shall be liable for any damages arising directly or indirectly from its use.
3. The extension contacts Tools.QualityNonsense.com every day or so to check for updates to domain registrar data. This means I can add additional domain registrars and TLDs, and fix any problems that arise as registrars change how their sites work.
4. The extension logs anonymous aggregated usage data by default. You can opt out of this in the preferences pane. The only data collected is the number of installations and how often the extension is used.
5. The extension uses affiliate links for some domain registrars.
I take privacy seriously. If you’ve any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.
Feedback
Comments, ideas or suggestions? I love them all equally. Specifically, I want to hear:
- Which domain registrars do you want added?
- What TLDs do you want added?
- What could be improved?
Please post feedback in the post comments.
My army of beta testers deserve enormous thanks, particularly Aaron, Rob, Jon, Gareth, Stephen and Fraser. Thank you muchly.
My name is Richard Kershaw. My company, Quality Nonsense Ltd, publishes a network of sites, like
This is an excellent idea for a tool – I’ve just downloaded it, thanks.
Could you add Heart Internet to the list of registrars?
March 10th, 2008 at 9:56 am
[...] You can learn more and download it here: Domain Lookup Firefox Extension [...]
March 10th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Great work Richard. You just made my life a little easier
March 10th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
That is magnificent – except that you’ve probably just cost me a couple of hundred in late night drunken domain registrations. All the same, thanks very much!
March 10th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
Great tool! It would be really cool if you integrated a shortcut that popped-up a box where you could also type in your own text. Next version, perhaps?
March 10th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
[...] been beta testing a Domain Lookup Firefox extension from Richard Kershaw at Quality Nonsense. I renamed it the “Impulse Domain Lookup [...]
March 11th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Pink: A few more UK registrars are on my wants list, including Heart Internet, Daily.co.uk and WebFusion. More news as I have it.
March 11th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
[...] that build lots of niche sites or do PPC and need niche domains for landing pages will LOVE the new Domain Lookup Firefox Extension from Quality [...]
March 12th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Find Keyword Domains Easy! Firefox Extension…
If you build lots of niche sites or need niche domains for PPC landing pages, check out the new Domain Lookup Firefox Exte……
March 12th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
[...] received an email today from Richard Kershaw, developer of a new Domain Lookup Firefox Extension. I installed the addon immediately and it works great. I can see myself using this daily for [...]
March 12th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
Superb tool. Just the thing for domain addicts.
Thanks
March 12th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
[...] Domain Lookup Firefox Extension: QualityNonSense.com [...]
March 12th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
[...] received an email today from Richard Kershaw, developer of a new Domain Lookup Firefox Extension. I installed the addon immediately and it works great. I can see myself using this daily for [...]
March 12th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
[...] Cycles: Ze Frank – Domain Lookup Firefox Extension: QualityNonSense.com [...]
March 12th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
[...] ανακάλυψα ένα καινούριο Firefox® extension το οποίο μας βοηθάει να κάνουμε whois εύκολα και γρήγορα [...]
March 12th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
Great tool, thanks for publishing it. Would really love to see .co.nz included for us in New Zealand at some stage.
March 12th, 2008 at 11:11 pm
[...] No related posts Filed Under: Domainer Resources Tags: Domain Lookup • Domainer Resources • Firefox Extension table.dptable { width:100%; border:0; } tr.dphead { background-color:#0066CC; color:#FFFFFF; font-weight:bold; } tr.dphead td a { color:#FFFFFF; } tr.dprow { background-color:#FFFFFF; } tr.dprowalt { background-color:#CCCCCC; } #dpcols-contact { text-align:center; } #intro { } Firefox users rejoice! Today I ran across a post over at DotSauce giving us the heads up on a new Firefox extension called Domain Lookup. [...]
March 13th, 2008 at 2:31 am
That’s a pretty cool idea. I recognize that moniker registration page hehe. I’ve spent way too much time looking at it the past couple years.
This is one case where I don’t mind affiliate links. Providing a useful service to people should be rewarded. Thanks!
March 13th, 2008 at 3:20 am
[...] download and try Domain Lookup go here. These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web [...]
March 13th, 2008 at 8:37 pm
This bloody tool has meant I’ve spent the past few days checking domain after domain although I’ve found some good ones though so thanks. Hurry up and get Heart Internet up and running so I can send some commissions your way!
March 13th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
[...] Domain Lookup Firefox Extension In case you were trying to pick a domain, see if phrases that catch your eye are available (tags: firefox extension domains addon) [...]
March 14th, 2008 at 6:20 am
Great plugin !
I would like to have also the .it (Italy) domains.
ciao
alex
March 14th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Nice plugin. Just installed it
March 15th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
IDN’s in Chinese and Japanese would be greatly
appreciated.
great tool.
steve
March 18th, 2008 at 4:34 am
Steve – IDNs are on the ‘possibles’ list for the next version.
DWD – DomainTools.com is already on my ‘to do’ list. It handles domain searches *slightly* differently from most registrars. I’ll let you know when this is ready.
March 21st, 2008 at 8:15 am
Awesome plugin! Can you add DomainTools.com to your list? I know it is not a registrar, but an awesome place to look for domains. You also might want to add a donate button for us grateful folk. Thanks.
March 21st, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Wow this is a great FireFox extension. Thanks so much for this. I swear FireFox is the only tool needed to work online anymore. YAY
Peace,
March 30th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Excellent plugin
I will try it my .TR domains.
Thank
April 6th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
Due to an over-zealous spam cleanup and the new WordPress comment moderation system, I’ve accidentally deleted a few comments and trackbacks. Apologies.
April 6th, 2008 at 9:29 pm