What is a Domain Name?
A domain name is a designated name for a website that can be claimed by anyone that has access to a computer connected to the internet. The administrative body that governs domain names is called ICANN; the International Corporation for Assigned name and numbers.
The name of the domain comes about when someone up with a clever idea for website and hunt for a cool domain name begins. There are billions of website domains that number continues to grow each year.
A marketer might buy a domain name and hold on to it with the goal of selling it for thousands in the future. A novice might purchase a domain name to build a really cool looking website to share with family and friends.
Just about anyone can claim a domain name by logging on to the internet, doing a search for through domain hosting company like Godaddy. You can purchase the name if you find it available during your search. It’s almost impossible to find a one word domain name today due to the popularity of the internet.
One name domain names are the best because they are easy to remember like macys.com or amazon.com and of course google.com is probably the most popular one word domain name.
The domain naming convention is about to change to the new GTLD or Generic Top Level domains. This system will open up new dot extensions like yourwebsite.wallet or yourwebsite.cars etc.
Since buying domain names happens on a first come first serve basis, the names are often purchased and treated like a real estate commodity.
Current available domain names are probably long tail domain names. That means the words that make up the domain name consist of more than one word like; GoogleWebsiteSearch.com or StampsForPostage.com.
Let’s say you want to register test.com. You become the registrant. You acquire the domain name you want from a registrar accredited by ICANN like Godaddy.com or register.com. The registrar checks with the registry and if the name you want is available then you get to use it. The registry organization makes your domain name function in the technical realm.
They put your domain name in the right data bases so the rest of the internet can find your website. When choosing a domain name, decide on the reason for your website. The reason for building your website will help you choose the best name possible for your website.
It’s a good idea to always choose a dot com as opposed to a dot net or dot org as your top level domain name because a dot com is easier to remember and the public usually associates dot come with legitimacy in the internet world.
The next time you search for a name for your website you'll see all that goes into what a domain name is and make the right choice.
|
