Domain name

Domain name is a unique name that identifies a website on the Internet. It is a part of the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) used to access web sites, for example, www.example.com. In this URL, "example.com" is the domain name.

Overview

A domain name is essentially a signpost on the Internet. Every website you've ever been to, and every email you've ever composed, has used a domain name in its address. People register domain names in order to 'stake a claim' to a particular name — whether for business or personal reasons. Once a domain name is registered to a person or company, that person can use it to connect to the Internet.

Structure of a Domain Name

A domain name consists of two or more parts, technically called labels, that are conventionally concatenated, and delimited by dots, such as example.com.

Top-Level Domains

The right-most label conveys the top-level domain (TLD); for example, the domain name www.example.com belongs to the top-level domain com.

Second-Level Domains

The second-level domain (SLD) name is the "readable" part of the domain name. It typically refers to the organization or entity associated with the IP address. For example, in 'example.com', 'example' is the second-level domain.

Domain Name System

The Domain Name System (DNS) helps users to find their way around the Internet. Every computer on the Internet has a unique address – just like a telephone number – which is a rather complicated string of numbers. It is called its "IP address" (IP stands for "Internet Protocol"). IP Addresses are hard to remember. The DNS makes using the Internet easier by allowing a familiar string of letters (the "domain name") to be used instead of the arcane IP address.

Domain Name Registration

Domain name registration is the process of registering a domain name, which identifies one or more IP addresses with a name that is easier to remember and use in URLs to identify particular Web pages.

See Also

• Uniform Resource Locator
• Top-level domain
• Second-level domain
• Domain Name System
• Domain name registration

Domain name Resources
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