What Is a Domain Name? Domains Explained for Beginners
A domain name is a web address consisting of a website name and a domain name extension. The name is up to you – as long as it consists of letters, numbers, hyphens and is still available, whereas the domain extension is usually a set combination of a few letters.
Just like a physical address helps people find a specific place, the purpose of a domain is to help visitors find a website. Without domain names, users can only access websites using Internet Protocol (IP) addresses.
However, IP addresses are hard to remember as they consist of seemingly random series of numbers, making them inconvenient to share. Domain names, on the contrary, can help drive traffic to your website.
In this article, we will cover all the necessary information about domain names. We will explain how domains work and their different types. Then, we will show how to register and transfer a domain name and answer some frequently asked questions.
Differences Between a Domain Name and a URL
While a domain name and a URL (Universal Resource Locator) share some similarities, they refer to different things. A URL acts as a complete website address that can direct visitors to a specific page on a site. A domain name is just a part of it.
A URL consists of a protocol, a domain, and a path. The protocol shows whether a site has an SSL certificate. Keep note that URLs have a path only when they direct visitors to a specific page on a site.
How Do Domains Work?
Every website has the following two main elements: a domain name and a web hosting server. Your domain name points to the web server that hosts your site.
Keep note that every domain is linked to an IP address. When a user enters a domain name into a browser, the server will search through a global server network that makes up the Domain Name System (DNS).
The DNS servers will search for the IP address associated with the domain name. The server that has information about the IP address will return it to the web browser. Then, it will request data about the site from the domain’s hosting server.
The web server stores all of the website’s data, including its files, database and HTML code. Once the hosting server sends the data back, the web browser will convert it into a web page that users can visit.
TLDs: Top-Level Domains
A top-level domain is a domain name extension. Various TLDs are available online, but .com is the most popular extension, with over 52% of all websites having it. Using a more popular extension drives higher organic traffic as users often write it by default.
ccTLDs: Country-Code Top-Level Domains
A country-code top-level domain is an extension that is specific to a particular country. It consists of two letters based on the international country codes. There are platforms that help find the correct country codes, such as the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)’s database. To illustrate, sites from Japan can use .jp as their extensions, whereas Brazilian sites use .br.
gTLDs: Generic Top Level Domains
A generic top-level domain is an extension that does not rely on a country code. There are no specific criteria to get a gTLD. However, some extensions are sponsored by designated agencies or organizations.
