Most times, when you tell a client who happens to be new to the internet about a website, you always get these questions;
The list continues.
They want to know everything about the website.
If you are a web designer with little or no knowledge about a domain name, chances are, you will be confused and end up losing the client - because you won’t be able to explain what a domain name is.
In this article, I will explain everything you need about a domain name. Next time a client puts you under the pressure of a domain name, you will be able to explain in detail.
Before we go over to the subject, let’s look at what is in this guide;
- What is a domain name?
- How does a domain name work?
- Types of Domain Name
- Who is responsible for the domain name system
A domain name is the address of a website that people enter on a browser’s URL when they want to visit a website.
A domain name is assigned an IP address that is used for its identification.
The IP address - is a series of numeric numbers, separated with a full stop that looks like this; 77.342.985.65
Now, these numbers could be difficult to remember.
For instance, if you have many websites as your favourite, and you wish to visit one, you will find it difficult to differentiate one website from the other.
So, to make it simple, the IP address is written with alphabets like; pemware.com, or alpha-numeric style like; 7up.com which makes it easy to understand and remember.
For more understanding, let me use the real world as an example.
Let’s say a website is a house. Then, the domain name - is the address.
Now we understand what a domain name is - let’s go to the next topic.
Now, let’s talk about how domains work.
Generally, domain names have one concept.
Here is how domains work. When you enter a domain name in a web browser, it first sends a request to a global network of servers. These servers combined to form the Domain Name System (DNS). To learn more about the Domain Name System, see this article.
Next, the servers will look for the name servers associated with the specified domain and forward the request to those name servers.
The name servers will then forward your request - to the server where your website files are stored.
At this point, the webserver now fetches the web page and every information associated with it. Then, it finally sends this data back to the browser. And bang, you have your website.
This explanation seems long, but everything happens within a few seconds.
Note:
Name servers are computers managed by hosting companies.
For instance, if your host is BlueHost, then your name server should look like;
ns1.bluehost.com
ns2.bluehost.com
A computer handling your website is the web server. It has special software installed on it. Two popular web server software are Apache and Nginx.
There are many domain names, and they are available in different extensions.
The everyday domain name - which happens to be the most popular, is the .com extension.
There are other options like .org, .info, .net, .biz, and .edu, which you can always go for - depending on what your business represents. You may need to find out how to choose the right domain name in this article.
Now, let us look at the different types of domain names in detail.
These domain names - are generic domain extensions listed at the highest level in the domain name system. They are the most common domain names.
Most times, when you tell people your business is online, they first assume it to be the .com extension.
This is why we always advise people to go for common domain extensions.
While we talk about the Top-Level Domains - there are hundreds of Top-Level Domain Names, but some of the most popular ones are .com, .org and .net.
Other TLDs are not too popular. Examples are the .biz, .club, .info, .agency, and many more.
A country code top-level domain is a country’s specific domain name.
These domain names usually come with a country-code extension.
For example, the .ng is for Nigeria, .uk for the United Kingdom, .de for Germany, .in for India, .ny for New York, and so on.
The ccTLD is best for local targeting.
So, if you wish to target a specific country, you may choose ccTLD.
These categories of domain names of TLDs have a sponsor representing a specific group served by the domain extension.
A good example is the .edu meant for education-related organizations, .gov for government-related, .mil for the United States military, and more.
Another interesting question is, who is responsible for the domain name system?
Here is it;
A non-profit organization, Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), manages the domain name system.
Their main work is to create and implement the policies for domain names.
They permit Domain Name Registrars, which enable them to sell domain names.
With their permission, domain registrars can make changes to domain names registered on your behalf.
The registrars sell domain names, manage their records and their renewals, and can transfer to other registrars.
The renewal and where to host the domain depends on the owner.
A domain name is like an address of a business online. The way a business has a unique address, so are domain names.
I believe you have learned something from this article. If you have any questions or want a professional view on choosing your domain name, see this article or talk to our expert.
