Creating a website involves a lot of new concepts if you are not technically savvy. Beginners often have a hard time understanding the difference between a domain name and web hosting. With so many elements involved, it can be difficult to differentiate everything. Therefore, today we will explain what a domain is and all the details about domain names to provide more clarity, especially for beginners.
What is a Domain?
The internet is a big place, and it’s only going to get bigger as time goes on. So, users need a simple way to find their way around. That’s what a domain name does in its most basic form. It acts as your website address to help your visitors find you.
To get a little more there is no time limit for live technical, you can think of the internet as a large collection of computers. Each computer in this collection of computers has a name, but instead of being called A or B, they are assigned a series of numbers that help us identify them. This is called an IP address. An IP address looks something like this: 123.324.237.139.
But the problem with IP addresses features of reverse osmosis purification is that they are very hard to remember. Imagine having to type a different string like this into your URL bar every time you want to visit a website. It’s nearly impossible.
So, to make things easier, domain names were invented as a text version of an IP address. A domain name is a URL that you type into your browser bar to get to the website you are looking for. Domain names are there to help you remember any website and make it easier to access.
What is the structure of a domain?
Whatever type of domain name you decide to register, you need to distinguish its three main components:
- Prefix: An internet protocol (HTTP – standard, HTTPS – secure).
- Hostname: Usually “www” to indicate a website
- Domain name: Any string of characters. For example, “expertmail”
Top Level Domain (TLD): An extension such as .com, .net, .io
How Does Domaining Work?
When your visitor types your domain text services name into the search bar, a request is sent to the Domain Name System (DNS).
DNS is a server or network of computers that acts like a big address book. It contains information about all the locations on the Internet where your name can be stored. These locations are called name servers and are managed by your hosting company. If your domain name sounds like your home address, these are the cities where that home is located.
Once it finds the name servers that host your domain name, DNS will forward the request to them, letting them know that someone wants to view your website. Your hosting provider will then find the computer or web server where your website is located.
Think of the web server as your street. When your hosting provider is on the right street, they will collect all the data collected under your domain name that makes up your website and then send it back to the browser.
It may seem like there are a lot of steps to take just to view a website, but it all happens in the blink of an eye. Your visitors won’t have to wait more than a few seconds.
Related Content: What is DNS, How to Change DNS Settings?
What are the Types of Domain Names?
When choosing a domain name, it’s important to know that there are several different types of domain extensions. Below are the three most common types of domain extensions:
Top -Level Domain (TLD)
A TLD is a domain extension. It is the part that comes after the dot at the end of a website address. The most popular TLDs are .com, .org, and .net. Because they are so popular, you may sometimes find that the domain names for these TLDs are already taken, but don’t panic if you can’t get one of the most popular ones. Google treats all TLD extensions as the same, so certain extensions don’t get special treatment in search engine results. There are 1,503 TLDs available for the current registry.