What Is The Purpose Of Having A Domain Name

How Can I Get A Free Website Domain

Web hosting providers like Hostinger offer free domain registration with some of their hosting plans. By using this method, you will be able to create a website faster than by purchasing the domain name separately.

Another way to get a free website domain is by using a website builder or CMS to create a websites subdomain. WordPress.com and Blogger are two examples of platforms that offer this service. With this method, users can own domains like test.wordpress.com instead of test.com.

However, free subdomains often come with minimal features and tools. Meanwhile, getting a free domain with a hosting service will offer the same freedom as purchasing one.

What Does Buying A Domain Name Mean

In essence, a domain is an address on the internet. Domain names are basically used to assign a name to long numeric IP address, meaning that of us can actually use the internet without getting completely lost. When it comes to purchasing a domain name, these are bought from a domain registrar. Think of buying a domain almost like paying rent youll have to pay a yearly fee in order to retain ownership of the domain.

Pros Of Owning A Domain Name

These are the most common reasons to consider owning a domain name. Not all ofthese will apply to everyone, in particular points 4 and 5 apply more tobusinesses:

Read Also: Cost To Purchase A Domain Name

Difference Between Domain Name And Url

Usually the two terms, domain name and URL are used interchangeably. Technically speaking however the two arent the same.

As mentioned earlier, a domain name is used for identifying computers on the Internet. These computers though use IP addresses, which are a series of numbers, such as 185.113.25.55. Since humans find it easier to remember a string of characters rather than numbers, the pioneers of the web devised domain names to identify entities on the Internet rather than IP addresses.

On the other hand, a URL or a uniform resource locator is made up of the domain name as well as some other pieces of information, including the protocol and the path. For example, https://techradar.com/pro is a URL in which techradar.com is the domain name, while https is the transfer protocol and /pro is the path to a specific section on the website.

In most modern browsers, you dont need to enter the complete URL to visit a website. Simply enter the domain name and the browser will add the protocol and other pieces of information required to bring up the website.

How Does A Dns Work

A DNS starts working immediately after a user enters a domain name in the address bar of a browser. It will search through the Internet to find the IP address that is associated with the entered domain name. After successfully identifying the IP address, it then guides the users browser to connect to it, which will then serve the requested website contents. The process happens very quickly with little delay and the user will be on his requested website almost immediately. However, in the background, a DNS has executed many processes.

The first step that a DNS does is to send a DNS query to several other DNS servers. A DNS is not just a single server responding to over billions of domain name requests, but instead it is distributed globally across a network of DNS, which stores the IP address directory in a distributed manner.

With this in mind, all the DNS servers work together to attend to the billions of domain names requests worldwide. The reason behind this is to cut down the time for users to get a response for their requests. If a user is looking for a specific site and there is only one DNS server to process it, then it will take significantly longer to search through the millions of records in the directory. What if at the same time there are also millions, if not billions of users who are also doing the same? That is going to take a long time, and the users browsing experience will definitely be affected negatively.

You May Like: Vistaprint Domain Transfer

Domain Names Can Be Scaled Up To Allow Common Administration Of A Numberof Email Addresses And Web Pages

ISPs generally set a limit on the number of email addresses and web spaces youcan associate with a given account — that limit is often equal to 1, especiallyfor webspaces. Domain name hosts often will too, but you can increase thislimit arbitrarily by switching hosts.

Once you have a domain name, the possibility of a more or less unboundednumber of websites and email addresses opens up. If your company grows from 10to 1000 employees, you can add email addresses for them as needed. If youbecome addicted to web publishing, you can set up a new subdomain for everynew project. Moreover, you can host these email addresses and subdomains on acommon server and exert control over all of them from a single point.

Purchase Your Domain Name And Complete Its Registration

Once you settle on a domain name, its time to purchase it. When you buy through Mailchimp, well let you know the annual cost of the domain name as well as any available discounts.

During the checkout process, youll be required to enter your contact information, including an email address, to register the domain.

You May Like: Transferring Domain From Wix To Shopify

What Is Domain Hosting

As the name suggests, domain hosting refers to services that host domain names for your website. They sell domains and register them to an owner for a specific subscription fee. It is very different from a web host, where you can purchase both a domain and a web hosting account from the same place.

When you buy a domain from a domain name registrar, the registrar will be your domain host. This means every domain-related requirement is taken care of by the registrar, such as managing IP addresses in the DNS records.

Do I Have To Buy Web Hosting And A Domain Name Together

You dont have to buy a domain name and a web hosting account together. However, when you buy them separately, it is necessary to change the DNS settings and point the domain to your web hosting company. Otherwise, your website will become inaccessible.

On the other hand, purchasing web hosting and a domain from the same web host will save you the hassle of changing the domain name settings. It also offers a more convenient solution, as you manage and upgrade both services on the same admin dashboard.

Also Check: How Much Does It Cost For A Domain Name

Use The Right Domain Name Extensions

When you choose your domain name extension, you can be sure of one thing: .com is still the best.

According to research from Domain Name Stat, 37% of all domains have the .com extension.

Why? Well, .com is the most familiar and easiest to remember.

While there are many successful websites with a .net and .org, your website will probably do better if it has a .com extension. Its the safest bet.

Our advice: Go with .com. If thats taken, try .net or .org. If these are taken too, youd be better off brainstorming a new domain name. And oh! Avoid those weird extensions like .club, .space, .pizza and so on.

They Know What To Expect

For a potential customer, an accurate domain name is how it helps you to understand the kind of business youre dealing with and what to expect from it. For instance, if you spotted a website called onlyorchids.com, but you were actually looking to buy a bouquet of roses for your mother, youd immediately know from the domain name that the flowers on offer from this business werent for you.

You May Like: How Much Does It Cost To Own A Domain

Registering A Domain Name Is One Of The First Steps To Starting A New Business Thats Because Whatever Name Is Chosen Will Represent The Businesss Space On The Internet And Possibly A Customers First Impression Of The Company But Once You Have That Domain Name What Do You Do Dont Stress Over Building An

www.Com

Registering a domain name is one of the first steps to starting a new business. Thats because whatever name is chosen will represent the businesss space on the internet and, possibly, a customers first impression of the company.

But once you have that domain name, what do you do? Dont stress over building an online space. Start using a domain name right away. Here are three ways to do it.

Do I Really Need A Domain Name For My Business

IT expert Jason Murray explains why securing a domain name for your business is essential, even if you have yet to develop your web site or settle on the finer details of your online strategy

A domain name is a unique identifier that represents you and your business on the internet. So if you dont have a website do you really need one? Absolutely!

It is essential that your business secures an online presence. Putting the technical jargon aside, a domain name does this by giving you an exclusive address on the internet. The domain is most commonly used to identify your website and email address but can also be used for other specialised online functions.

It goes without saying that the domain name you pick must match your business and your brand. The name that you use to advertise your products and services is the name that you will want.

There are several different types of domain names and in our case the most popular would be .COM and .COM.AU.

The .COM is the most recognised and popular type of domain and can be freely bought and sold by anybody. This domain type is recognised globally and should be considered the equivalent of prime real-estate on the internet.

When registering your domain name, make sure you also include email and website hosting. You may also want to enquire about DNS Management if your business operations are more advanced .

Also Check: What To Do After Buying A Domain Name

Tips For Choosing A New Domain Name

Here are some best practices for selecting an appropriate domain name for your website or blog.

• Get to the point: finding a generic domain name that is quite short will help future visitors remember it better.
• Opt for simplicity: choose a name that is easy to pronounce and spell.
• Assess its relevance: a domain name that is related to the theme of your website or blog helps users understand the content of the site quickly.
• Make sure you are identifiable: create your domain name as you would a trademark. Or, take the most natural solution and use your company name as your websiteâs domain name.
• Use your own name: if you want to create a personal blog, it is very likely that your name or first name/surname will be available as a domain name .
• Choose a .com or .co.uk domain extension: these are the most common extensions in the UK.

How Do You Know Which Nameserver To Use

The hosting company you use for your domain name will determine the nameserver names or IP addresses for your domains zone file.

You will need to update the domain names DNS settings via your domain registrar who will then communicate those changes to the domain registry.

After you make changes to your DNS server settings, it can take up to 48 hours to update worldwide domain name servers. This window is known as propagation.

Back to top

Recommended Reading: Register Domain Privately

Million Dollar Plus Domain Names

GoDaddy recently published a list of the most expensive domain names that have been publicly reported. Here are just a few

• CarInsurance.com $49.7 million

Ive also published a list of the oldest .com domains here.

As you can see, these popular domain names sell for big money. But lets also check out the other end of the spectrum how do you get a free domain name?

Do I Need A Domain For A Website

Technically, visitors can visit your website using its IP address. However, since it consists of a string of numbers, it is hard to remember. A domain helps make a website more accessible to internet users.

A domain is also essential for branding and search engine optimization . Even though users can still find your website without a domain name, it is a crucial part of a site.

Also Check: How Much Does It Cost To Register A Domain Name

Other Domain Name Types

We focused on the different extension types above. The following are the different available structures of domain names:

Second-Level Domains

Second-level domains are below TLDs in the domain name hierarchy. An SLD is the section of a domain name located on the left side of the last dot. Take www.hostinger.com, for example hostinger is the SLD, and .com is the TLD.

Some domain name registries use an SLD to indicate a specific type of entity registering. For example, academic institutions in the United Kingdom mostly register websites under .ac.uk.

Subdomains

A subdomain is a separate division from a larger domain but still shares the same servers. There is no need to purchase and register a subdomain. Technically, the www on most URLs is a subdomain that indicates a site is part of the world wide web.

The most common use for a subdomain is to organize and divide web content into separate sections. For example, Google uses developers.google.com to provide specific information for developers.

Another use of a subdomain is to create another website with the same name but different languages. Take Wikipedia as an example, which has a separate subdomain for each language. It uses en.wikipedia.org for the English version and es.wikipedia.org for the Spanish one.

Free Domains

A free web address often uses the same structure as subdomains. For example, instead of hostingertutorials.com, it would be hostingertutorials.wordpress.com or hostingertutorials.blogspot.com.

Domain Name System Providers

There are many different providers of DNS, including the Internet Service Provider at your home or business, , Level 3, OpenDNS, DynDNS, etc. These providers maintain the phonebook and translate your request into its corresponding IP address a job that carries great responsibility. If your DNS provider does not correctly resolve your request, or maliciously redirects your browser to malware, it can cause serious problems, including viruses or worms. If a URL cannot be resolved at all, your browser will typically display an error or a blank page. Your home ISP will often provide features like search assist or phishing block to help protect you while you are searching the web. Google and Level 3 provide unfiltered DNS servers , in case your ISPs servers seem to be filtering or monitoring your requests. OpenDNS and DynDNS, on the other hand, offer services that allow you to control what kind of sites you wish to block and what sites you wish to allow. Paid accounts often give you more control, even down to individual sites rather than categories of sites. This is a popular method for securing your home internet service and protecting your kids from looking at content that you dont want them to see. It is also good for protecting you from phishing scams that are prevalent on the internet today.

You May Like: Io Domain Name Meaning