Why you need domain names

[ashish]

Hi,

This is for all the people who are new to the web hosting world.

Why You Need A Domain Name

On the World Wide Web your domain name is your own unique identity. No two parties can ever hold the same domain name simultaneously; therefore your Internet identity is totally unique. If you have a business site on the Internet your domain name is your own online brand and in a sense you can use your domain name as your online business card. With your own domain name your web site, and e-mail addresses for example will have that professional look, being unique to your business. Many people often miss the importance of having and then keeping their domain name until they lose it. Once this happens they soon realize that they have lost their whole online identity.


How does a domain name work?

To understand why you need a domain name you first need to know how a domain name works.
A domain name is an addressing construct, used for finding and identifying computers on the Internet. Computers use Internet Protocol (IP) Addresses, which are a series of numbers used to identify each other on the Internet; however, many people find it hard to remember IP Addresses. Because of this, domain names were developed so that easily remembered names and phrases could be used to identify entities in the Internet instead of using an IP Address.

For example, the domain name M6.net identifies the company M6.net. When a user types the domain name M6.net in their browser or sends an email to M6.net, the Domain Name System (DNS) will translate the domain name into IP numbers. These are then used by the Internet to connect the user to M6.net?s web presence.


What should I use as a domain name?

You can use a word or phrase as a domain name. When thinking of a domain name, think of catchy words or phrases that are easy to remember and that will bring more traffic to your site. Try to use a domain name that is relevant to your web site. If your web site is a business site, it is a good idea to use the companies name as the domain name or if your site is a personal site try to think of a domain name that is related to the topic of your web site.

Also try to keep your domain name as short as possible, around 5 to 20 characters is fine. The shorter the domain name the easier it will be to remember.
One thing to keep in mind is assumed spelling issues; if you think up a ?clever? domain name such as 1luv4u.com ? One Love For You (dating service), people may type in oneloveforyou.com believing this is the domain name; or oneluv4u.com, or 1love4you.com etc. This leads to brand problems. In this case the ?oneloveforyou.com? name would be best. Another unfortunate example: Flo Office Supplies ? flooffice.com?


How do I acquire a domain name?

There are two main ways you can get a domain name. You can either register your domain name yourself or you can get your web host or ISP (Internet Service Provider) to register it for you.

To register a domain name yourself you will need to choose a Registrar. A Registrar is an ICANN accredited domain registration company. There are hundreds of Registrars on the Internet nowadays. The market is becoming increasingly competitive; which means that you can purchase domains names for a low yearly fee.

Most web hosting companies will offer domain registration services to their clients. When you register a domain name through a web host they will register your domain name for you through their own approved registrar. An advantage to having your web host register your domain name for you is that, they have probably done this process many times before; they have all the necessary information ready at hand. This process will save you time and, as long as you give the ?correct? domain name desired, there will be no unfamiliar dealings with Registrars.


Why should I keep my domain name registered?

If you loose your domain name you can loose your whole online identity.
Because you can only register a domain name for a year or so, you will need to make sure that you renew it before the expiry date. Once your domain name expires you will no longer own that domain name. Your Registrar will then own it and be able to sell your domain name to the highest bidder. To make sure you don?t loose your domain name you will need to make sure you renew your domain name at least two weeks before it expires.

Also make sure that your information is registered properly, especially if you didn?t register your domain name yourself. Ensure that your information is displayed as the registrant, administrative and billing contacts; most importantly make sure that the email addresses for these contacts are ACTIVE. When you receive any information about your domain name, such as renewals, price changes, etc? an email will be sent to this email address. If you can?t receive any mail from the email addresses listed under the domain names contact then you are at risk of not receiving important notifications about your domain names, which could result in loosing your domain name.

People often miss the importance of having their own unique domain name for their web sites. A domain name represents you, your company and your online presence; as does a ?business card?. If you don?t have your own domain name you won?t be able to promote your own online identity and web site on the World Wide Web.

[erika]

Ashish Really a good step for domain newbies. It's a good stuff.

[Nadia]

Domain names are a real commodity. In years to come good domain names will be rarere and so older good names will be worth more.

[Thenzer]

And extensions respectively
.arpa A top-level domain name used for ArpaNet sites.
.com Pronounced "dot com." A top-level domain name used for commercial Internet sites.
.edu A top-level domain name used for educational sites .
.firm An ending of an address for an Internet site for a business.
.gov A top-level domain name used for a U.S. government site on the Internet.
.int A top-level domain name used for international institutions.
.mil A top-level domain name for a U.S. military site on the Internet.
.mobi A top-level domain name for a sites made for mobile phones.
.nato A top-level domain name used for NATO sites.
.net A top-level domain name used for Internet administrative sites.
.nom An ending of an address for a personal site on the Internet.
.org A top-level domain name for organizational Internet sites.
.store An ending of an address for an Internet site that is for a retail business.
.web An ending of an address for an Internet site that is about the World Wide Web.

.ac Top-level domain name for an educational network (same as .edu).
.ad Andorra
.ae United Arab Emirates
.af Afghanistan
.ag Antigua and Barbuda
.ai Anguilla
.al Albania
.am Armenia
.an Netherlands Antilles
.ao Angola
.aq Antarctica
.ar Argentina
.as American Samoa
.at Austria
.au Australia
.aw Aruba
.az Azerbaijan
.ba Bosnia/Herzegovinia
.bb Barbados
.bd Bangladesh
.be Belgium
.bf Burkina Faso
.bg Bulgaria
.bh Bahrain
.bi Burundi
.bj Benin
.bm Bermuda
.bn Brunei Darussalam
.bo Bolivia
.br Brazil
.bs Bahamas
.bt Bhutan
.bv Bouvet Island
.bw Botswana
.by 1. Belarus 2. Byelorussia
.bz Belize
.ca Canada
.cc Cocos Islands - Keelings
.cf Central African Republic
.cg Congo
.ch Switzerland
.ci Cote D’Ivoire, or Ivory Coast
.ck Cook Islands
.cl Chile
.cm Cameroon
.cn China
.co Colombia
.cr Costa Rica
.cs Czechoslovakia (former)
.cu Cuba
.cv Cape Verde
.cx Christmas Island
.cy Cyprus
.cz Czech Republic
.de Germany
.dj Djibouti
.dk Denmark
.dm Dominica
.do Dominican Republic
.dz Algeria
.ec Ecuador
.ee Estonia
.eg Egypt
.eh Western Sahara
.er Eritrea
.es Spain
.et Ethiopia
.eu European Union
.fi Finland
.fj Fiji
.fk Falkland Islands/Malvinas
.fm Micronesia
.fo Faroe Islands
.fr France
.fx Metropolitan France
.ga Gabon
.gb Great Britain
.gd Grenada
.ge Georgia
.gf French Guiana
.gh Ghana
.gi Gibraltar
.gl Greenland
.gm Gambia
.gn Guinea
.gp Guadeloupe
.gq Equatorial Guinea
.gr Greece
.gs South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands
.gt Guatemala
.gu Guam
.gw Guinea-Bissau
.gy Guyana
.hk Hong Kong
.hm Heard and McDonald Islands
.hn Honduras
.hr Croatia/Hrvatska
.ht Haiti
.hu Hungary
.id Indonesia
.ie Ireland
.il Israel
.in India
.io British Indian Ocean Territory
.iq Iraq
.ir Iran
.is Iceland
.it Italy
.jm Jamaica
.jo Jordan
.jp Japan
.ke Kenya
.kg Kyrgyzstan
.kh Cambodia
.ki Kiribati
.km Comoros
.kn Saint Kitts and Nevis
.kp North Korea
.kr South Korea
.kw Kuwait
.ky Cayman Islands
.kz Kazakhstan
.la Laos
.lb Lebanon
.lc Saint Lucia
.li Liechtenstein
.lk Sri Lanka
.lr Liberia
.ls Lesotho
.lt Lithuania
.lu Luxembourg
.lv Latvia
.ly Libya
.ma Morocco
.mc Monaco
.md Moldova
.mg Madagascar
.mh Marshall Islands
.mk Macedonia
.ml Mali
.mm Myanmar
.mn Mongolia
.mo Macau
.mp Northern Mariana Islands
.mq Martinique
.mr Mauritania
.ms Montserrat
.mt Malta
.mu Mauritius
.mv Maldives
.mw Malawi
.mx Mexico
.my Malaysia
.mz Mozambique
.na Namibia
.nc New Caledonia
.ne Niger
.nf Norfolk Island
.ng Nigeria
.ni Nicaragua
.nl Netherlands
.no Norway
.np Nepal
.nr Nauru
.nt Neutral Zone
.nu Niue
.nz New Zealand (Aotearoa)
.om Oman
.pa Panama
.pe Peru
.pf French Polynesia
.pg Papua New Guinea
.ph Philippines
.pk Pakistan
.pl Poland
.pm St. Pierre and Miquelon
.pn Pitcairn
.pr Puerto Rico
.pt Portugal
.pw Palau
.py Paraguay
.qa Qatar
.re Reunion
.ro Romania
.ru Russian Federation
.rw Rwanda
.sa Saudi Arabia
.sb Solomon Islands
.sc Seychelles
.sd Sudan
.se Sweden
.sg Singapore
.sh Saint Helena
.si Slovenia
.sj Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands
.sk Slovakia
.sl Sierra Leone
.sm San Marino
.sn Senegal
.so Somalia
.sr Suriname
.st Sao Torme and Principe
.su Former USSR
.sv El Salvador
.sy Syria
.sz Swaziland
.tc Turks and Caicos Islands
.td Chad
.tf French Southern Territory
.tg Togo
.th Thailand
.tj Tajikistan
.tk Tokelau
.tm Turkmenistan
.tn Tunisia
.to Tonga
.tp East Timor
.tr Turkey
.tt Trinidad and Tobago
.tv Tuvalu
.tw Taiwan
.tz Tanzania
.ua Ukraine
.ug Uganda
.uk United Kingdom
.um U.S. Minor Outlying Islands
.us United States
.uy Uruguay
.uz Uzbekistan
.va Vatican City State
.vc Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
.ve Venezuela
.vg British Virgin Islands
.vi U.S. Virgin Islands
.vn Viet Nam
.vu Vanuatu
.wf Wallis and Futuna Islands
.ws Samoa
.ye Yemen
.yt Mayotte
.yu Yugoslavia
.za South Africa
.zm Zambia
.zr Zaire
.zw Zimbabwe

[TrustaHost-UK]

Since this thread is proving knowledgable i have stuck this for easier finding

Thanks for your contribution.

Dom

[shakir]

Dont find anything informative or to share. Any how its good for somebody they don't know anything about "www"

[jcarney1987]

Hey names are easy to remember than numbers.

[sequincer]

Dont find anything informative or to share. Any how its good for somebody they don't know anything about "www"

Assuming you want information of the World Wide Web(WWW) as quoted in your message.
The World Wide Web (commonly shortened to the Web) is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet.

regards,

[namecomp]

Great read! Thanks all!

[web hosting]

Good thread! And I just had to accept the fact there are a lot more domain TLDs in existence than I think which only exist.

And it's always safe to register your domains with an established Domain registrar. You can't just go to a random registrar and register with them just because their prices are low. Also, you have to take a look at their features, because many of the domain registrars today offer cool features for free, which you would have to pay for with other companies.

[tryauto]

It's a good stuff.

[Murtaza]

ashish your information about domain names seems to be quite alot. It was a good read.

[constantinum]

hi,
that is the most revealing and illuminating post i'v ever read on this topic.. i too have a domain name registered with http://www.tucktail.com/ but never knew all these details

[Disanto]

its very good stuff

[MumbleVoice-Jen]

Wow, never knew that. This is great information !