A detailed description of domain names structure.
It works kind of like your contact list on your personal phone. Rather than memorizing which person is associated with each phone number, you assign a person’s name to that phone number. When you want to call someone, all you have to remember is their name and contact them.
Websites are stored on computer systems called ‘servers.’ These servers are assigned a unique numerical address (IP address) to perceive themselves on the internet. An IP address is a conventions computers used to communicate over the internet but this convention is not easy to memorize, manage and recall by humans. Because IP addresses are difficult to memorize, a ‘domain name’ can be registered and assigned to a particular IP address. Then, when you decide to visit a specific website, instead of remembering its IP address, you now have memorized an address name.
What is a domain name?
A domain name is a string of text that maps to a numeric IP address, used to access a website from client software. In plain English, we can associate a domain name to the text that internet users type into a browser window to reach a particular website. For instance, the domain name for Amazon is ‘Amazon.com’.
In short, we can say that a domain name is a name that is assigned to any website IP address so humans can handle the complexity of computers' conventional addressing (e.g. 103.21.244.0). The address name assignation is achieved with the use of Domain Name Servers (DNS) which friendly maps website addresses to a friendly name. Thanks to this, users are able to enter human-friendly domain names and be routed to the websites they are looking for. This process is known as a DNS lookup.
It works kind of like your contact listing on your private phone. Rather than memorizing which character is associated with each telephone number, you assign a person’s identity to that cellphone number. When you desire to call someone, all you have to take into account is their name and contact them.
What’s the difference between a domain name and a URL?
A uniform resource locator (URL), sometimes called a web address, is a higher level addressing system that contains the domain name of a site as well as other information, including the transfer protocol, the path to resources, and parameters. For example, in the URL ‘https://www.merriam-webster.com/learning/’, ‘merriam-webster.com’ is the domain name, ‘.com’ is the domain, while ‘https’ is the protocol and ‘/learning/’ is the path to a specific page on the website.
What are the parts of a domain name?
Domain names are typically broken up into two or three parts, each separated by a dot. When reading right-to-left, the identifiers in domain names go from most general to most specific. The section to the right of the last dot in a domain name is the top-level domain (TLD). These include the ‘generic’ TLDs such as ‘.com’, ‘.net’, and ‘.org’, as well as country-specific TLDs like ‘.uk’ and ‘.jp’.
Depending on the number of elements, you will find Top-Level Domain (TLD), second-level domain (2LD) and if there is anything to the left of the 2LD, it is called the third-level domain (3LD).
examples:
Indi case the domain name is separated by one dot. For instance, Google’s US domain name, ‘google.com’:
’.com’ is the TLD (most general)
’google’ is the 2LD (most specific)
In the case the domain is separated by two dots, this is the case for Google UK’s domain name, ‘google.co.uk’:
’.com’ is the TLD (most general)
’.co’* is the 2LD
’google’ is the 3LD (most specific).
*In this case, the 2LD indicates the type of organization that registered the domain (.co in the UK is for sites registered by companies).
Types Of Domains:
Right now you know a domain name is a website address like Amzon.com or google.com. A top-level domain (TLD) is the portion that comes after the period (.com). In the market, there are several TLDs customers can choose from when registering a new domain. Some are generic TLDs, while others are specific to a country (.us — United States, .ca — Canada).
As domain names are unique identifiers, availability is limited according to your needs. TLDs availability may vary from brand to brand, so the easiest way to determine what’s available is to begin the process of registering a new domain on the brand of your choice and browse through the available TLDs.
Types Of Domains:
Country Code TLD’s (ccTLDs)
ccTLDs are two-letter Internet top-level domains (TLDs) specifically designated for a particular country, sovereign state, or autonomous territory for use to service their community. Examples: (.us) for the United States and (.ca) for Canada.
General TLD’s (gTLDs)
gTLDs can be used for general purposes. Examples: .biz or .info
Sponsored TLD’s (sTLDs)
sTLDs can only be used by entities engaged within the specific industry. Examples are: .jobs or .coop
New TLD’s
In addition to the standard TLDs (.COM, .ORG and .NET), hundreds of new TLDs such as.BIKE, .PHOTOS, .MENU are available. The new TLDs fall into 3 different categories:
Depending on the needs and nature of your business and entrepreneurship, you will choose a domain that suits your needs.
How to keep a domain name secure
Once a domain name has been registered with a registrar, that registrar is in charge of notifying the registrant when their domain is about to expire and giving them the chance to renew, ensuring they don’t lose their domain name. In some cases, registrars will prey on their users’ expired domain names by buying those domains the second they expire and then selling them back to the original registrant at an exorbitant price. It’s important to choose an honest and trustworthy registrar to avoid these kinds of predatory practices.
Who manages domain names?
Domain names are all managed by domain registries, which delegate the reservation of domain names to registrars. Anyone who wants to create a website can register a domain name with a registrar. We can find below the top 5 registrars on the market today:
How Can Having A Domain Name Benefit your Business and Online Presence?
Deciding and registering a domain name should not be done in haste. It is a valuable marketing and search tool that should successfully lead customers to your site. Careful deliberation and research should be applied, as it might be the most important decision you make when carving out your slice of the online market.
Among the benefits of getting a strong domain we can highlight:
- Adds professional credibility to your business and separates you from the millions of get-rich-quick-scheme websites out there.
- Provides visibility for your brand. Much like a storefront window, a good domain will create awareness and attract customers.
- Establishes your business as tech-savvy and forward-thinking. Whether you actually sell products online or not, it is crucial to your reputation to claim your territory online.
- Creates mobility for your internet presence. If you decide to change web hosting services, relocate to a different country, or shift to using your own in-house server, your domain name stays with you, allowing you to continue to build your brand without having to start all over.
- Increases your search engine ranking. As you build your business and develop your website with quality content, your domain name will become more and more recognizable in search engines like Google, which draws more customers in your direction.
- Will provide your brand with marketability around the world, or you can choose to focus specifically on a local region.
- As opposed to traditional marketing — as long as you keep current with the low annual fees — your domain name will not expire.
