What Is A Domain? All About The Domain And Its Extensions
What is a domain? Knowing the domain can facilitate this path if you plan to be successful in displaying your business online, especially if you plan to use your site to increase sales. To start working, you need to register and buy a domain.
A domain name is the backbone of your presence in the digital world. One of the essential things for viewers to remember, it is also one of the most vital points of your marketing strategy. But what is a domain? To learn more about domain names and things that affect your ability to choose a domain name and manage a site, we decide to prepare this article.
The domain is the address you enter in the top bar of your browser and access the desired site through it. For example, pars.host is a domain name.
What is a domain?
A domain is the physical name of a website. When you have a physical store, your store is located at a specific address, and customers can access your store through that address. It is the same with internet websites. The domain name is the address of your website through which users can access the content of your website in the cyberspace.
A good address is one that your customers can easily reach and prefer you over your competition. Because you have an address that can be easily memorized and used, and as you know, this address is only for you and your business, and no one else has the right to use it. A good domain plays a vital role in the performance of your website.
A domain name is a combination of letters, numbers, and a symbol that can be accessed by entering it in the Address Bar. Using a domain that is a combination of numbers and letters is an easier way than entering the IP address. It is intended to access a site. The domain is a substitute for IP, which has been converted into an address by the DNS protocol, whose main task is to convert IPs into names.
What is IP?
An IP or Internet Protocol address is a set of numbers that identifies each device on a network. Computers use IP addresses to communicate with each other on the Internet and other networks.
In the web world, IP is called a postal code. For example, if you enter the IP address 172.217.18.142 in your browser, the Google website will open for you.
What is DNS or Domain Name System?
Domain Name System or DNS is a technical process of converting a domain name (pars.host) to an Internet address or IP. When you enter the domain name you want to see, the Domain Name System works in the background to find The correct IP address and then redirects you to the website.
Suppose the domain name system is your mobile phone book. When you type the name of the desired person, your mobile phone will call that person’s number.
What are the components of the domain?
The domain consists of two different parts. The first part is the “top-level domain” or TLD, and the second part is the “second-level domain” or SLD, or the domain name. The last part of a domain name is the top-level domain, which we know by the abbreviation TLD or its extension. For example, in this address, www.pars.host, .host is an extension.
Several types of TLDs are categorized by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), Including GTLD, CCTLD, STLD, and UTLD.
Types of TLDs:
There are different types of TLDs, and we mention them in this section:
Generic Top-Level Domain (GTLD)
Generic top-level extensions are the most common extensions that can be used. These types of extensions include .com, .net, .org and .edu. The task of these types of domains with these extensions is to specify the working area of a website. For example, .com is used for advertising, and .edu is used for educational purposes.
Country-Code Top-Level Domain (CCTLD)
You can choose extensions from the CCTLD type to specify the country in which a website is registered. For example, the .ir extension is used for websites registered in Iran and .de for websites registered in Germany.
CCTLDs identify the country in which the website is registered. But some users use domains with particular extensions, such as .ly (country code extension for Libya) or .ca (country code extension for Canada). When registering a domain with this type of extension, you must pay attention to the fact that you must provide the citizenship information of the same country.
Sponsored Top-Level Domain (STLD)
Sponsored top-level extensions are a subset of GTLDs, a domain sponsored by a specific body or organization. For example, among the most important STLD domains, we should mention gov, tv, edu, etc.
Un Sponsored Top-Level Domain (UTLD)
These top-level domains are also a subset of GTLDs, domains that do not have registration restrictions, such as .com and .info, which are available at most domain registries. When the first domains became available in 1980, there were seven GTLD domains, and only three UTLD domains could be registered without restriction (.com, .net, and .org).
Choosing a short and memorable domain has become very difficult. Today, different domain registries provide different extensions according to work areas, user interests, and workplace.
What are second-level domains?
Second-level domain or SLD (also known as 2LD in some places) is the part before TLD. For example, in the pars.host address, the pars part is the second level domain of the website address. The domain name is usually the most important part of a website address because users identify your website with this part of the domain name.
The TLD part is very important, but the domain name’s most important and valuable part is the SLD that comes before it. The prominent role of SLD is usually to introduce and identify a brand or identity of a website. The maximum length of the domain name can be up to 63 characters, but it is better to choose a short, well-known, and memorable domain.
What is the difference between URL and domain?
A domain is a specific string of text that directs a person to the desired website. This definition bears very little resemblance to a website address or URL. Most users often use Domain and URL interchangeably. To understand domain and URL correctly, it is necessary to get acquainted with each of these things.
What is a URL?
It is a string of characters entered in the browser and sends a message to the server to show a set of resources to the user. While domain and URL have many similarities, URL is more descriptive. The URL includes the domain address. For example, https://pars.host/contact-us is a URL that consists of the pars.host domain name. A URL has other components as well. In the following, we will learn more details from the above URL.
What is a subdomain?
A subdomain is an optional part of the URL that creates a separate part of your website. If the URL has a subdomain, its name is placed before the domain. Websites may use the subdomain to create test pages or website development pages to create new addresses to isolate and store website files. Also, one of the other cases where websites use subdomains is to connect the user to a specific part of the website.
For example, to enter the user panel on the Bluehost website, on the main page, after selecting the option to enter the user panel, the following page will open:
https://my.bluehost.com/cgi-bin/cplogin.
In the mentioned address, my is the subdomain that the Bluehost server uses to refer to specific pages.
What is a domain name?
Domain names include the following subdomain rules and protocols. In the example we mentioned earlier, pars.host has a letter top-level domain (TLD) and a second-level domain (SLD).
What is a domain path?
The domain path section defines the exact web server resource to display. Note that the beginning of the path begins after /.
What is the difference between web hosting and domain?
The domain name and web hosting are two different things. However, they are closely related. To create a website, you need a domain name and a host. The main difference between a domain and a host is that a domain is an address that directs visitors to your site and allows users to access your website quickly and online. In contrast, the host is the space where the website files are stored.
What is DNS or Domain Name System?
Domain Name System or DNS is a technical process of converting domain name (pars.host) to an Internet address or IP. A website has a string of numbers and letters known as IP that computers use to provide a web address to the user. Humans use letters, words, and numbers to communicate with a website; the Internet identifies the location of the website with its IP address.
What is a registrar, registrant, and domain registry?
Domain registration and its ownership is an issue that concerns your mind. To facilitate this task, we examine three essential roles: registrar, registrant, and registry. After knowing what a domain is? We must go to more and more essential concepts.
- Domain Registry
The domain registry is the highest level in the hierarchy. A domain registry is a company that owns domain extensions. Zero to hundred domains are managed by the registry. They can create new extensions, provide guidance for using gTLDs and allow registrars to sell domains. Some popular registrars include Joker, Verisign, Donuts, Afilias, etc.
- Domain Registrar
What is a domain registrar? The registrar is the next or middle role in this equation. A domain registrar is where you go to buy a domain. The Internet Corporation must validate and approve these companies for Assigned Names and Numbers or ICANN. Another example of registrars is GoDaddy.
On the GoDaddy platform, users can browse many domain names with domain extensions to register their desired domain. Then, they can facilitate how to buy and manage it using GoDaddy’s user interface. The domain registration process and its management is the leading role of a domain registrar company. Domain registrars are companies that can sell domains with specific extensions. The domain registry coordinates with various registrars to distribute domain name ownership rights.
While there are many effective registries, there are not enough registries available. For example, popular extensions such as .com, .net, and .org have negotiated with several registrars to sell their domains; that is why you can buy a domain from several domain-selling platforms. You should be careful in choosing registrars because the registrar in question or the party to your contract may not be able to register all domain extensions.
- Domain Registrant
The domain registrar, or in other words, the last role in registering a domain, is the domain owner. A domain registrant is a natural or legal person who registers a domain from a domain registrar. There are several ways to acquire domain ownership, as follows:
- Buy a free domain or a new domain
The easiest way to register a domain is to find a completely new domain or a domain that is not controlled by someone else. There are many benefits to registering a new or released domain. These domains are readily available, meaning you can purchase them in minutes from a registrar that can register that extension. New or released domains are the most cost-effective option for domain registration.
- Purchase of registered domain
Another way to register a domain is to purchase the domain rights from the current licensee. Several online domain marketplaces allow online buying and selling between registrants. Also, registering and buying an expired domain has advantages not included in this article. It is interesting to know that many people buy domains to sell in the future.
If you want to buy a domain already registered by someone else, most registrars offer services that help you purchase such domains.
- Winning a domain in an auction
You can buy the desired domain through an auction. If the domain is not renewed by the franchisee and expires, or the franchisee intends to create competition between buyers and sell to the highest bidder, it will be auctioned.
How to register a domain
If you have chosen your domain along with your desired extension, you can register it easily from your user panel. It is enough to enter your user panel and check the desired domain name along with the chosen extension from the domains section, register a new domain, and add it to your shopping cart if available. After paying the bill, the domain will be registered.
If you have not created your user panel yet, you can create a user panel with just one click and enter your information.
Last word
We said that to start a website, in addition to web hosting, you must register your domain.
In this article, we tried to examine and explain what a domain is in a complete and specialized manner. By reading this article, you will not have any doubts about the domain, and then you can choose your domain with full information.
We hope that you have benefited from reading this article.
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