ENS stands for Ethereum Naming System and is a blockchain-powered DNS. ENS domains end in .eth. For example, this site is codeclimbing.com using a traditional DNS, but there is also an ENS counterpart…
***drumroll***
codeclimbing.eth
This ENS domain points to an IPFS hash of this blog. But if you type codeclimbing.eth in your browser, it might not work. For example, if I attempt to visit codeclimbing.eth on Google Chrome, the browser will perform a Google search instead of showing me the blog.
Those are the woes of being at the edge of technology!
One day every web browser will support ENS domains, I have no doubt. For now, however, you can read this guide and I will help you out on how to visit ENS-enabled websites. You’ll be surprised at how well supported it is!
Using the Brave Browser
The first method to visit ENS websites is to use the Brave Browser. It is a great browser for blockchain and Web3 enthusiasts since it pays users with BAT tokens for seeing ads, comes with the Metamask extension by default and also… allows you to visit ENS websites.
To see an ENS website, however, you must put an / at the end (like this codeclimbing.eth/, or else the browser will think you are trying to perform a google search.
Click here to download the Brave browser!
Using Google Chrome + the Metamask Extension
In all likelihood, you are using Google Chrome and are wondering if you can use it to visit ENS sites.
You can!…
But there’s a catch.
It doesn’t work by default. Luckily, the awesome Metamask extension will enable the functionality of visiting ENS websites.
Just like for Brave you will need a / at the end of the URL to be able to access the site like so: codeclimbing.eth/
Click here to download the Metamask extension for Google Chrome!
Using the Opera Browser on Android
This is a very recent thing. The Opera browser on Android now natively supports .eth domains!
Because this is such a recent development, this is ONLY on Android, but I have no doubt Opera will extend this functionality to other platforms too!
Unlike Brave and Chrome, you can just directly type codeclimbing.eth in the url and it will just work directly.
AWESOME!
Click here to download Opera for Android on the Play Store.
ANY Other Browser using ethLink
Okay, so this is cheating so don’t tell anyone… 😉 It’s possible to access .eth websites with ANY browser through the service ethLink. So the guys bought the eth.link domain and are linking all ENS domains as subdomains.
Which means if you append .link at the end of an ENS domain, you can access the site like any other sites.
Try it! codeclimbing.eth.link
BONUS: ENS Websites Search Engine
Okay, so you’ve spent hours perusing the wonderful content at codeclimbing.eth and are looking for more cool sites?
Lucky for you, there’s a search engine for .eth websites.almonit.eth
I won’t tell you how to visit the site, since by now you should have become an expert on the subject!
The Future is Now!!
We have the privilege of being early adopters of this wonderful technology. Yet, as you have seen, accessing ENS-enabled sites is very easy to do with a wide range of browsers.
So show your friends how cool it is to visit decentralised ENS sites!