What is a Domain Name?
A domain name refers to your website address. This is what users type in a browser’s search bar to directly access your website. A domain name is unique therefore each and every single website got a ‘Domain Name’ and cannot be shared between different sites. Basically, every website is created under an unique Domain Name, regardless the purpose and functions of the website. As an example, here is the domain name of our website, the website you are navigating on it right this moment: www.webhostsystems.net
Domain name definition:
Each website is identified by a unique set of numbers, called an IP address (and this is an example, out of the thousands out there: 206.37.118.20). Your computer uses these numbers to connect to the server where the website data is located. When visitors enter a domain name in their search bar, it sends a request to a set of Domain Name System (DNS) servers. The DNS then responds with the IP address of the website’s hosting server, making it accessible. Domain names were created because IP addresses are too complicated for the humans to remember. So, for the internet users to ‘access a website’, it will needs to be given a name, which will be the: ‘Domain Name‘.
The structure of a domain name
To finish off this definition of a domain name, here is a quick explanation of its structure.
The domain Name is made of three parts.
Let’s take as example the same the domain name of the ‘Webhost Systems Ltd – UK’s website: www.webhostsystems.net
- www: refers to the third-level domain (World Wide Web) – which nowadays there’s no need to type anymore.
- webhostsystems: refers to the second-level domain; this is the name of the website.
- .net: this is the top-level domain (TLD), also known as a Domain Name’s Extension.
The most popular Domain Name’s Extensions are: .COM, .NET, .CO.UK, .INFO, .ORG,
There are also sub-domains,
