Monday, March 25, 2024

What Is A Web Domain Name

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How Does Domain Registration Work

What is a Domain Name & Web Hosting? How much is it?

The domain registration process is facilitated through a few major parties, namely ICANN, a domain registry, a domain registrar and a domain reseller.

ICANN is the organisation solely in charge of maintaining and regulating the domain industry. It maintains and coordinates each top-level domain , while also taking care of security and stability of the domain root network and its infrastructure. ICANN appoints which party is in charge of managing the domain names records registered under each Top-level Domain .

The party appointed by ICANN is what we call a domain registry. It is in charge of managing all the domain names record in a database. According to the definition of a domain registry by ICANN, a domain registry is the party responsible for accepting domain name registration requests from registrars, maintaining a database of the necessary registration data associated with domain names, and providing name servers to publish the zone file data throughout the Internet.

Next, a domain registrar is a qualified party, accredited by ICANN to perform domain names transactions, namely registration, renewal and transfer. To perform these processes, a domain registrar needs to meet strict requirements established and usually has an agreement with a domain registry. It usually needs to build and maintain infrastructure to connect with a domain registry to perform domain names transactions.

What Is A Website

A website lives on a domain, and its the collection of files and coding language in the backend that produces a front-end experience for internet users.

In other words, your website is what a user sees when they visit your domain name or specific URLs on your domain.

The difference between a website and domain

Brands often use their website and domain in the same call-to-action Visit our website at XYZ.com! This kind of marketing communication might explain why so many people confuse the terms website and domain.

The domain is the series of characters someone puts into their web browser to access your website, which is the visual result once they visit the domain. The website provides the user experience once someone visits your domain.

Conceptually, you can think of a domain like your home address and the website as the physical home. The address is how someone finds your home, but the style, size and layout of your home might vary drastically from one house to the next.

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How Can I Hide My Remaining Public Contact Details From The Whois Database

For Canadians with a .CA domain name, the?Canadian Internet Registration Authority ?automatically provides domain privacy be default. However, non .CA domain names will need to purchase an additional service called a Domain Privacy service. Once purchased, all Registrant information on the WHOIS database is replaced by proxy contact information. In most cases, this information belongs to the operating registrar such as Webnames.ca.

While the details list a registrar or proxy contact information, the true owner of a domain name is still the original registrant.

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Intellectual Property And Domain Names

Intellectual property is a term that encompasses several legal issues like trademark dilution, copyright claims and patent infringement, among other things. With regards to your domain and website, there are intellectual property considerations to understand before moving forward with your site.

The last thing you want to do is invest time, money and other resources into registering a domain and building a website that infringes on anothers legal rights.

Moreover, when building out your business, you must be diligent about protecting your own assets including your domain and website.

Editors note:This content should not be construed as legal advice. Always consult an attorney regarding your specific legal situation.

Should My Domain Name Match My Business Name

What

Youre not required to buy a domain name that matches your business name, but you can bet that its a good idea. Especially when it comes to SEO, search engine optimization, its a wise idea to match your domain name to your business name it helps to build your reputation. You can even use your domain name for your business email address for consistency and the most professional look. But keep in mind, if your business name is very long and hard to pronounce, will your customers know how to type it out? If not, consider abbreviations or close alternatives. Pro tip: your domain name should pass the radio test if people only heard your domain name on the radio and never saw it written out, could they spell it correctly and get to your site?

Also Check: How Much Do Domains Cost Per Year

How Do Domains Work

Domain names work by acting as a shortcut to the server that hosts your website.

Without a domain name, anyone who wanted to visit your website would have to enter the full IP address. But the problem is that an IP address is difficult for people to memorize or to include on advertising materials.

In our case, Hostinger.com is the domain name. Lets say it points to the IP address 100.90.80.70. The IP address points to a server, but it doesnt resolve the website if visitors try to use it. Thats because for an IP address to resolve a website, the remote server needs to be using port 80 with a default page stored in its web-apps directory.

As you can see, messing around with server defaults and IP addresses can be both confusing and time-consuming. Thats why the vast majority of website owners opt to utilize a service like Hostinger which offers bundled domain names with annual web hosting packages.

Domains can also use redirects, which essentially allow you to specify that if people visit your domain, theyre automatically forwarded to another. This can be useful for campaigns and microsites or for forwarding people to dedicated landing pages on your main site. They can also come in useful for avoiding confusion around spellings. For example, if you visit www.fb.com, youll be forwarded to www.facebook.com.

What Types Of Top Level Domains Can You Choose From

There are quite a few different TLDs nowadays, including, but not limited to:

  • .com â The most popular top level domain, initially intended for commercial websites
  • .net â This TLD was created for network providers, but itâs open for other uses as well
  • .gov â Used only by government offices, agencies, and agents. For example, an official website of the United States government is usa.gov
  • .org â Mainly used by organizations
  • .edu â Only educational institutions or universities can use this TLD
  • .uk, .mx, .br â Country-coded TLDs
  • .music, .ninja, .store, .sports â These are some examples of newer, generic TLDs

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Difference Between A Domain Name And Web Hosting

Going back to the start of this article, if the domain name is like your physical address then web hosting is like the physical building and the contents stored within.

Domain names are used to create a handy little shortcut to link what visitors type into an address bar to the server thats used to host the website. Theyre entirely digital and stored in a centralized database.

Hosting is a little different because it requires a physical server thats located somewhere in the world and connected to the internet. Its essentially like a computer hard drive that stores all of your websites files and databases. Its called a server because it literally serves your website to your visitors.

When you type a URL into your web browser, it sends a request to the specific server that your site is hosted on. The server then uploads the files and transmits them across the internet to the device that youre using, which downloads the files and displays them. Feel free to have a look at our more detailed guide about domain vs hosting relationship.

How To Get A Domain

Domain Registration. How to register a domain & what is a web domain name anyway?

Domain names are the responsibility of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which grants domain registrars the authority to register domain names. If you want to get your own domain, you need to go through one of these registrars.

Most big web hosts also provide domain registration services, but you don’t have to go through your web host. It’s a little easier to go through one provider for everything, if you’ve never built a website before, but you don’t have to.

Registering a domain name is a fairly easy process that involves selecting a subdomain and pairing it with a TLD. If the combination you want is taken, you can try a different subdomain, or try different TLDs until you find one that works.

Read Also: What Is The Io Domain Used For

What Is Web Hosting And How Does It Work With A Domain

Back to our house metaphor. If the domain is the address, then web hosting is the plot of land where you’ll actually build your house . Web hosting typically comes with several features, such as the ability to host email on your domain and a web space where you can run your website.

If you buy a domain with web hosting through one.com, they will be automatically configured to work with each other. Should you need to change the settings, you can easily do so from a single place- our beautifully designed and easy-to-use Control Panel.

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.

Also Check: Who Owns Domain Name Checker

The Legal Challenges Of Domain Names

Filing a domain name that includes the name of a known trademark is not the same as owning the trademarkâs intellectual and industrial property rights. However, anyone can reserve a domain name containing a trademark, if the company in question has not yet done so. This may create some conflicts between the company and the domain name holder that case-law is trying to address, since a domain name does not have a legal status as such.

It is therefore strongly recommended that businesses reserve several domain names with different extensions that incorporate the trademarks used by their company. This will prevent the companyâs brand identity from being misused, including by an unfair competitor or cybersquatters. However, French law seems to side with the owners of the trademark registered with the INPI, even if they do not own the corresponding domain name.

Why People Visit Websites

What Is Domain?

When it comes to websites vs .domains, in most cases, people will go to a website for two main reasons:

  • To do: Online visitors surf the web for a variety of motivations such as killing time, looking for entertainment, seeking to buy an item or service, communicating with others, interacting with social media, or paying a bill.
  • To learn: We have access to the entirety of the worlds knowledge through a small device we carry in our pockets. People visiting websites may do so to find a movie time, clear up an argument, or locate the address of the nearest gas station.

At its essence, a website is your way of communicating who your business is to consumers that you will likely never meet in person. When creating a website, it is important that you know your audience and cater your website towards them, towards what they want and need. A website is not only meant to attract people to whatever it is you are trying to sell but to help convince them that they need whatever that is. Therefore, it should be organized in such a way that it is pleasing to the eye, easy and intuitive to navigate, and clearly conveys what you are providing.

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Privacy And Tracking Issues

Originally designed as a public, hierarchical, distributed and heavily cached database, DNS protocol has no confidentiality controls. User queries and nameserver responses are being sent unencrypted which enables network packet sniffing, DNS hijacking, DNS cache poisoning and man-in-the-middle attacks. This deficiency is commonly used by cybercriminals and network operators for marketing purposes, user authentication on captive portals and censorship.

User privacy is further exposed by proposals for increasing the level of client IP information in DNS queries for the benefit of Content Delivery Networks.

The main approaches that are in use to counter privacy issues with DNS:

  • VPNs, which move DNS resolution to the VPN operator and hide user traffic from local ISP,
  • Tor, which replaces traditional DNS resolution with anonymous .onion domains, hiding both name resolution and user traffic behind onion routing counter-surveillance,
  • Proxies and public DNS servers, which move the actual DNS resolution to a third-party provider, who usually promises little or no request logging and optional added features, such as DNS-level or pornography blocking.
  • Public DNS servers can be queried using traditional DNS protocol, in which case they provide no protection from local surveillance, or DNS-over-HTTPS, DNS-over-TLS and DNSCrypt, which do provide such protection

What Is A Subdomain

A subdomain is related to the main or root domain and is the portion to the left of your Second-Level Domain, which is probably your brand, company, or personal name.

If you own your own domain, such as myexample.org and decide to operate a blog on a subdomain, your domain would read as blog.myexample.org.

Sometimes you will see subdomains referred to as third-level domains. The most common and familiar subdomain is www. You do not need to have www in your subdomain, but can choose to keep it there if you want.

Other uses for subdomains are things like your mobile website. Though not as common on smaller or responsive websites, many platforms require an entirely separate mobile version of their website to exist.

Much like with online security, made having a mobile or responsive website a necessity.

Whens the last time you navigated to a website on your mobile phone? Are you on it right now? You would be amongst the 58% of US traffic, if so.

You may see the subdomain m.whateverwebsite.com next time you navigate to one on mobile.

Its also possible your own website lives on asubdomain. Those who do not purchase domain names, but use website builderssuch as WordPress or Shopify, may have their website live on example.wordpress.com or example.myshopify.com.

Also Check: How To Transfer Squarespace Domain To Godaddy

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