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What is a domain name?

Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2024 6:32 am
by Bappy8
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If you want to know where to start in the world of the Internet, you've come to the right place. Let's start by answering, what is a domain name?

The first thing you need to know about websites is that they need to have a domain name in order to be found, and no matter if it is a personal online page, an online store or a corporate website, all of them without exception start with a domain name.

Understanding, what is a domain name?
In very simple terms, the Internet works thanks to servers, which are a kind of very powerful computers that host information and communicate with each other. To get a place on the Internet, you must start by acquiring a domain name.

Internet servers identify different websites through codes called IP addresses, but so that users, i.e. people who connect and browse the web, can find what they are looking for, these IP addresses must be translated into terms that everyone can understand, not just computers or web servers. Domain names are used for this purpose.

Another way to explain the above is to compare the digital world with the three-dimensional world as follows:

Every place that exists in the physical world has an address, even destinations that are in the middle of the oceans, such as islands. To get to a place, you need an address or the coordinates that lead to that place; not all people understand or know how to decipher coordinates, but they can use the official or common address of a site to get there. In the same way, in the digital world, a domain name contains the necessary information so that both computers - or servers - as well as people can get to it. Let's say that servers use coordinates that are only understandable between them, as well as between the experts who create, maintain, or, where appropriate, ecuador business email list program them, while users use domain names to identify a website.

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Components of a domain name
All domain names consist of the initials www, the name of the website and the domain extension.

The acronym www:
In English they mean World Wide Web and serve as a distribution system for all documents or information on the Internet.

The name of the website:
It is unique, meaning that there cannot be two that are exactly the same. Example: www.yourname, where “yourname” would be the name of the website or your personal online page.

The domain extension:
This is the final part of the domain name. Continuing with the previous example: www.yourname.com, where “.com” is the domain extension. This part of the domain name indicates which area, industry, or segment a website belongs to, and although until not long ago there were only a few domain extensions such as .com or .org, today you can use hundreds of them to make your website even more identifiable.

Where do you get a domain name?
In order to have order in relation to all the information that exists online, different rules or guidelines have been created, one of the most important is the domain registration, that is, to acquire one, it must be registered through entities that have the authority to do so and are known as domain name registrars. These companies or individuals are in charge of facilitating the search for the correct name for your website, of checking that said name is available and of carrying out the corresponding digital procedure so that you and only you are the owner of said domain name and therefore, the one who has the right to use it. Something like what happens in the physical world when you want to register a trademark.

There are many places online where you can purchase a domain name , but the recommendation is always to go with those who have the most experience in the field, as well as a wide variety of domain names under management so you can find exactly the one you are looking for.

Based on the above, it is highly advisable to check the online site of the largest domain registrar in the world. There you will also find the largest variety of domain extensions, as well as the appropriate advice to make decisions in case the name you want for your website is already used by another site.

Now that you know what a domain name is, why don't you browse a little further here to find out what web hosting is? Both the domain name and the hosting are the two essential requirements to have a website online.