Have you ever really thought about or wondered what a domain name is or why it exists? If so, then you landed on this page for answers! Read through this article to learn everything about domain names.
What is a Domain Name?
A domain name is your website name! A domain name is an address which tells other computers where the actual files of your website reside. Think of it as an address just as you would of a home address. With the unique domain name (home address) you can navigate to the proper location to serve up your website files.
Why Were Domain Names Invented?
Before domain names, the only way to find another computer or website was by using the IP address. IP addresses are a series of strings of numbers. However, memorizing a string of numbers as long as an IP address can be difficult for humans, and certainly not very user friendly. So, domain names were created to use human readable words to connect the IP addresses of computers to easy to remember names. A domain name can be any combination of letters and numbers. Domain names also must be registered before using them. Registering domains is an easy process, but for some business owners they would rather have their web developer handle this for them. Darwin Studios offers domain name registration services for it’s clients.
Top Level Domains Explained
Top level domains, or TLD’s for short, are the last parts of a domain name. This includes the most popular extensions such as .com, .net, and .org. You may have heard of many others that are specific, such as .gov or ,edu. These special top level domains are reserved for government and education organizations exclusively. However, a business can register under a number of different domain extensions. Did you know there are over 1,200 domain extensions? While this is the case, don’t get lured into purchasing a domain on an extension that no one will remember. By far, a .com domain name is more valuable and easy to remember than any other top level domain. This can lead customers to go to the wrong site.
The .com, .org, and .net TLDs were originally intended for use by companies, organizations, and networks, but there are no actual restrictions on using these domain extensions. So, any company can use any one of these for their domain name.
The .edu, .gov, and .mil TLDs were originally created for use by 4 year educational institutes, government entities, and military sites. These are definitely restricted, so don’t even try to register one if you are not an official entity in one of these categories. Rules for registering these are enforced.
Do You Actually OWN Your Domain Name?
This is an interesting question actually. When you register a domain name you are actually renting it rather than purchasing it. By registering it, you have exclusive rights to use the domain name. However, if you fail to renew your registration after the initial period has elapsed, then you lose the rights to that domain and someone else can register it. So make sure you are aware of when domains are expiring so you don’t run into this issue.
Another key thing to note is that when you register your domain name, make sure you are the registered “owner” or registrant of the domain name. Sometimes web design companies or agents will register a domain name in their own name rather than the actual company’s name which can result in legal complications down the road. So be aware! You want to make sure you retain full rights to the domain name of your business.
Who Is Responsible for Domain Names?
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) manages the domain names system. It is a non-profit organization that creates and implements the policies for domain names. This was create as the central place in which domains have to be registered. ICANN gives permission to certain registrars (such as GoDaddy, NameCheap, etc.) to sell domain names. The registrars are able to make changes to the domains on file on your behalf.
How Many Domain Names are Registered?
This is quite a shocking statistic, but did you know that there are over 358 million domain names registered?!? That is a lot of domains! Of those, nearly 43% of all domains are .com domain names, by far the most popular. The second most popular comes in at 4.37% and that is a .net domain. No other TLD tops 4%. So, it is clear that .com’s are the most popular domain name extension. It has also become a household term over the years with terms like the “dot com bubble” and similar. So keep in mind when you are registering a domain name for your business that you probably want to go with a .com name.
