Getting a Domain Name: All You Need to Know About Domain Names

Whether it is a small or big business running an e-commerce store, it needs a website to provide complete information about its product or service. Every website has an IP address that guides the visitors to the website. However, for a website, it is essential to have a unique domain name to help the visitors access it easily. In short, a domain name is the name of a website that is much like the address of your home and cannot be identical. Know all About Domain Names here-

What does a domain name consist of?

A domain name can be purchased only from an authorized registrar. A website owner has to pay for domain name registration to get the domain name in his or her name. Once the owner purchases a domain name, the backend and other features can be accessed by the owner. By having a domain name for your website, it gets an identity, which adds value to your business. This asks for choosing a domain name carefully.

A domain name consists of a combination of words or phrases and numbers. For instance, if you want to search a pets’ care website, to get to the exact website, you need to type “bestpetscare.sg” in your browser. Instead of using an IP address, which is very complicated with a series of several numbers and digits, a domain name is the easiest way to access a specific website. Choosing a simple, short and unique domain name makes it easy for your prospective customers to find your website.  

You can buy, sell and exchange a domain in the online market, and therefore a domain name has a monetary value. A well-designed domain name is high-priced in the online market.

Segments of a domain name

A domain name has two parts, a top-level domain (TLD) and a second-level domain (SLD). The SLD is the part preceding the TLD. For instance, when you search for “crazydomins. sg”, the SLD is the “crazydomins” part. The SLD is the most important part of the domain for it gives identity to your business or the activity you are doing. So, it should reflect what you are offering the visitors.

The second part of the extension is the TDL or the top-level domain, which denotes the purpose or location of the website. For example, if your domain is designed for the Singapore audience, you can choose a TLD as .sg or .com.sg.  

The ICANN or Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers has the authority to control the registries, which provide TLDs available to the public. You can choose from different extensions such as .com, .net, .org, .in, and so on.  

There are different types of TLDs available and they are recognized by ICANN

• Generic top-level domain (gTLD)
• Country-code top-level domain (ccTLD)
• Sponsored top-level domain (sTLD)
• Unsponsored top-level domain (uTLD)

The extensions are meant to signify the purpose of a website. For instance, ‘.com’ is meant for a commercial use and ‘.edu’ is for educational purpose. You can also find country-specific extensions like .sg, .nz, .uk, and so on.

When domain names were introduced, there were only three uTLDs that could be registered without restrictions and they are .com, .net, and .org. However, the scarcity of TLDs paved the way for the inclusion of several other TLDs.