Domain Names 101 

Without a domain name, websites are identified by an IP address. What is an IP address? It is a numerical identifier that is used by computers or humans to determine the location of a server or website. However, for humans, an IP address can be difficult to remember, especially if you visit a lot of web sites.

This is why domain names were invented. With a domain name, a human can locate a website through easier to remember words or phrases. And although numbers can be a part of a domain name, they usually do not make up all of it, as they would with an IP address.

In terms of format, domain names have several parts. The first part is known as the protocol that tells the browser what kind of connection is being made. This will usually be 'http', which means the browser can expect to locate a hypertext document. In layman's terms this means a web page. In the rare cases the protocol is not 'http'. It may be 'https' indicating an encrypted secure connection or 'ftp', which means 'file transfer protocol'. A webmaster would opt to use 'ftp' if they are allowing visitors to download files from their server.

The second part of the domain name may be "www" which stands for "World Wide Web" but this designation is not always required. It is followed by the actual domain name, which can be a combination of letters, numbers or phrases. A good domain name will be short, memorable and most importantly, search engine friendly. In fact, good webmasters tend to concentrate more on a domain name's effectiveness with SEO, (or Search Engine Optimization), than they do its creativity. To do this they make sure to choose a domain name that contains a widely searched keyword.

The final portion of the domain name is what is known as an extension. This lets a person know a little bit more about a website's origins. For example '.com', the most common domain name extension, stands for 'commercial', and was originally intended for business or commercial use. However, now the extension is used by virtually anyone looking to create a website. And this is for good reason, since most web surfers will think about the '.com' before they would think about '.org' (for non-profit, reference or organizational use), '.biz' (added later for additional business availability) or '.net' (for network providers like ISP's and hosting companies). Yet, dont think the other extensions cant become memorable. Consider Wikipedia.org which is a wildly popular website despite its '.org' extension.

Domain name extensions can also specify things on a geographical level. An example are country-based extensions such as '.fr', (which stands for France), or '.jp' , (which stands for Japan) that can serve as an excellent tool for localized Internet marketing.

To get a domain name, a person can either: 1) get one from their web hosting company, provided they offer that service or 2) get one from a separate domain name registrar. Price-wise things will vary with both options, though typically the cost will range from $9.95 to $35 for a one-year registration.

Ready to Buy a Domain Name?