How Are Domain Names And Web Hosting Different
Its common to confuse a domain name with web hosting. Although youll need both to run a website, they are separate things.
A domain name and web hosting are normally purchased separately. This reflects the fact that they are two different technologies, although many web hosts combine them into a single package to make it easier for their customers.
Websites use domain names to identify themselves, while the servers that host those websites use IP addresses.
Domain names are mapped to the web hosting server using DNS, the Domain Name System, which we explain more about below. DNS uses huge databases that map domain names to their corresponding servers IP address.
It works a bit like a phone book. Your name, the domain name, is listed with your phone number, the IP address. When you type the domain into a browser, the browser contacts your default DNS server and looks up the IP address.
If the DNS server has a record of that address, it provides the IP address to your browser and the browser connects, displaying the website.
If the DNS server doesnt have that particular domain name mapped, it queries a resolver server, TLD server, or root server to find the address.
All this happens in less than a second. Pretty cool, isnt it?
Hello! My name is Sujay and Im CEO of Astra.
Were on a mission to help small businesses grow online with affordable software products and the education you need to succeed.
Checking The Availability Of A Domain Name
This is the tricky part: each domain name can only be owned by one person at a time. Therefore, to purchase a domain name, you need to find one that is available when you carry out your search. You can use a search engine such as Google, and enter the domain name you are after to find out if a website is already registered with that name. Alternatively, there are tools that help you find an available domain name.
Why Do You Need A Domain Name
Any business, organization or individual striving to establish online presence should own a domain name. A combination of a domain name, website, and email addresses forms your unique identity online. That, in turn, helps your business create a professional look, increase brand awareness, build credibility, and protect your trademarks and copyrights.
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How To Transfer A Domain Name
Domain names can also be transferred between domain name registrars. Though there are a few special conditions that must be met:
While it is not mandatory to transfer your domain, having all services in a single place can greatly simplify the management process.
Here on Hostinger, you can perform a domain transfer from any domain name registrars. The process can take somewhere between 4-7 days to be fully completed. However, our dedicated customer success team will be there to assist every step of the way.
What Are The Types Of Dns Queries
In a typical DNS lookup three types of queries occur. By using a combination of these queries, an optimized process for DNS resolution can result in a reduction of distance traveled. In an ideal situation cached record data will be available, allowing a DNS name server to return a non-recursive query.
3 types of DNS queries:
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Domain Names Are Designed For People
Everything could theoretically be handled using just IP addresses when you want to bring up a web page in your browser. In fact, adding a domain name adds an extra step in that there needs to be a way to convert from a domain name to an IP address .
So, why do we use domain names at all?
Imagine that, instead of remembering everyone’s name, you had to remember their phone number or social security number whenever you wanted to talk about them. Or imagine going into an electronics store and finding there are no more brands, device names, or model names. Everything just has a serial number that you have to remember if you want to buy it.
We, humans, are much better at remembering names than we are at remembering strings of digits. That’s why we talk about catchy brand and model names, and that’s why we use domain names instead of IP addresses.
How To Choose A Domain Name
There are a lot of different ways to pick a domain name.
The first thing you want to do is brainstorm some word combinations and see what words fit the subject matter youre thinking about.
Its also a good idea to think of a name that has an easy spelling and is memorable so people can search for it on the internet.
Here are some additional tips to help you find a domain name:
1) Picking the name for your website is kind of like naming your baby. Its one of those decisions that seems simple at first, but can really take time and consideration. You want to be happy with the choice for the rest of your life, not just until your website is finished.
2) Choosing a domain name is an important part of starting any new website. Your sites URL is one of the first things that people will see on your site, so you want to make sure it looks professional and relates to the topic of your blog or business.
3) When deciding on a domain, think about what you want out of your website. If its for personal use, then you may want to go with something short and catchy.
4) If you are serious about blogging or making money online then choose a name that relates to your niche. Your blog or business will most likely be found by googling various words and phrases. Targeting a particular niche is crucial to your online success.
5) You dont need to have all the details worked out before you register your domain name. You can always change it later, so dont worry if you are not sure.
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What Restrictions Are There
There are some general rules and restrictions to consider when registering a new domain. Depending on the type of domain, there might also be other restrictions that youll usually be made aware of by the registrar.
General rules and restrictions for registering a domain name:
- You can only use letters, numbers and hyphens. Other forms of punctuation and symbols cannot be used.
- You can use multiple instances of hyphens, but not a double hyphen. You also cant use hyphens at the beginning or end of the domain name.
- Punctuation can only be used for grouping the domains in hierarchies, meaning to separate the domain name from the extension.
- A web address can begin and end in a number, example: 9-5.uk
- Domain names are not case sensitive. This means you can advertise your name using capital letters if you wish. For example 123-REG.CO.UK is the same name as both 123-Reg.co.uk and 123-reg.co.uk.
- Some TLDs allow registration of web addresses containing special characters and accents such as æ, ø and å. These are called IDN .
- A domain name must contain between 2 and 63 characters before the punctuation. Additional rules apply for the different top level domains.
Aside from these general rules and restrictions, make sure to also pay attention to domain specific restrictions.
Now that you know everything there is to know about domain names, including how they work and what extensions are available, go ahead and register your preferred domain at 123 Reg.
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Use Your Domain Name To Build Your Brand
Your domain name almost subconsciously plays a role in growing your brand. Think about it how powerful would the GoDaddy brand be if it had a domain name like BuyWebsites.com?
Businesses should look at the domain name as an opportunity to cement their brand identity into visitors minds.
Not only is GoDaddy.com the perfect domain name to grow GoDaddys brand, but its easy for consumers to remember and type in their browser when they want to visit the website directly. Look for branded domain names whenever possible especially if you can find an exact match brand name.
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Recursive Resolvers: The Dns Librarian
Let’s go back to the day when you visited Codecademy.com for the very first time. When you typed the domain name into your address bar, your browser had no idea where to go to access our homepage, let alone the webpage of this article. To fix this, the first step is to communicate with a recursive resolver.
Think of a recursive resolver as a librarian whose job is to communicate directly with the other DNS servers and come back to you with the query results. Recursive resolver servers communicate with three other types of DNS servers: root nameservers, TLD nameservers, and authoritative nameservers.
Choose A Domain Registrar
Once you know you want to build a website, one of your first steps will be to secure a domain name. That means either signing up with a domain registrar or looking into your free options.
If you want to get a free domain, your services will be pretty limited. Most free website builders wont provide you with your own unique domain, but a sub-domain that includes their own branding. For example, if you opt for a free website building platform like WordPress.com, your URL would look like this: mysite.wordpress.com.
This isnt the best choice for anything beyond a personal website since you wont be able to fully brand your site. Plus, website builders are often limited in how much theyll let you customize your site. If you want something more professional, youll likely want to opt for an actual domain registrar.
There are two main places you can purchase domain names. There are some standalone domain name registrars companies that simply sell domains. However, you can also buy a domain through any web hosting provider. This is often the best option since it means your hosting and domain will live in the same place .
Finding a web host that fits your needs means looking for a few telltale features. Usually, a solid hosting package will give you some bonuses beyond just storing your sites data, as we mentioned earlier.
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How To Buy A Domain Name
There are two steps to getting your domain name. The first, is that you need to find a domain name that has not already been taken.
You can do this by running a search on the site. If the domain is available, it will show up as having an account with someones domain name registrar .
After youve narrowed down which domains you want to look at, make sure they are still available before purchasing them .
The second step is figuring out who your domain name registrar will be. This means finding out which companies offer this service and how much it will cost.
There are some services that offer free domains if you sign up for their hosting services, but usually the price will be under $10. Once youve broken down which domains you want to use and where theyll be registered, purchase them!
The next step is contacting your new domain name registrar and updating your nameservers with them so that your website will start working. Youll usually be able to do this through their support section once youve signed in.
Where Can You Buy A Domain Name
You will need to pay an annual fee to register a domain name. When the registration period expires, you will be given the option to renew. If you dont, the domain name will be made available to others.
There are quite a few domain name registrars out there, but godaddy.com and NameCheap are probably among the most popular ones. Shopify also offers an option to buy a domain name through them for those opening a new e-store.
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From Domain Registry To Registrant
Now that you understand the different roles in the domain registration process, lets quickly demonstrate how those pieces interact.
1. Domain registry creates a new TLD
The first step in the process is for the domain registry to create a new TLD. For instance, the .world extension was created and distributed by the Donuts Registry.
2. Domain registrars acquire rights to sell the new TLD
After the domain registry creates the extension and sets the guidelines for using the TLD, they negotiate with registrars to sell that domain to the public. Donuts Registry worked with GoDaddy to make .world domain names available on GoDaddys platform.
3. Domain registrants find and register the domain name
Once domain names for the new TLDs become available via the domain registrars, people or organizations can find and register their domain name using that extension.
Each domain name using an extension can only be registered once, so its important to register your domain as soon as possible to avoid losing your domain name.
For instance, if you are a travel organization or travel blogger, you might want to register a domain like see.world.
4. Domain changes travel back up the chain
When the domain registrant makes changes to the domain settings such as updating the DNS records, it must be reported back to the domain registry which stores all the information about the domains using its extensions.