# DomainWatch - Product Context

## Why This Exists
Many domain investors and entrepreneurs want specific domain names that are currently registered. They need to monitor these domains and be alerted immediately when they become available (often when they expire and aren't renewed).

Existing solutions are:
- Expensive commercial services
- Dependent on external APIs
- Not self-hostable
- Limited in customization

DomainWatch solves this by providing a fully self-hosted solution with no external dependencies.

## Problems It Solves

### 1. Domain Availability Anxiety
Users constantly worry about missing out on a domain becoming available. DomainWatch removes this by automating daily checks.

### 2. Manual Checking Fatigue
Manually checking WHOIS for multiple domains is time-consuming. The dashboard shows all domains at a glance.

### 3. External Dependency Risk
Commercial APIs can change pricing, terms, or shut down. WHOIS/DNS lookups work directly and will continue working.

### 4. Privacy Concerns
Self-hosting means domain watchlists stay private. No third party knows what domains you're interested in.

## User Experience Goals

### Public User (No Account)
- Land on homepage
- Enter a domain
- See instant result (available/taken with details)
- Understand value proposition
- Easy path to registration

### Free User
- Quick registration
- Add up to 3 domains
- See status dashboard
- Manual refresh capability
- Understand upgrade benefits

### Paid User
- More domains (25 or 100)
- Same clean experience
- Priority support (future)
- API access (future)

## Key Metrics (Future)
- Domains monitored per user
- Check success rate
- Time to notification (when domain becomes available)
- Conversion rate free → paid