What is domain name? It’s quite simple. A domain name is an identifier that a user requires to access something on the internet. It is also called a web address. The actual web address is of a website is a numeric number called IP. Domain name actually maps the numeric IP address into a name.
Numeric IPs are difficult to remember for example 192.168. 0.1. Therefore, every IP address has a unique name called a domain name. DNS (Domain Name System) is responsible for assigning the domain names. Domain names can only be assigned after being registered to the DNS server.
Moreover, people sometimes confused domain names with URLs. Both are pretty different. You can say URL as a complete address of the target page with a little more information assigned with it such as protocols etc. For example, https://www.example.com/blog. Whereas the domain name in this example will be www.example.com.
How Does Domain Works?
If you are clear about what is domain name is, let’s see how it works. When you enter the web address i.e., domain name to the search engine, the request goes to the DNS server. DNS contains all IP addresses corresponding to each domain name. So as the request goes to the DNS, it matches the IPs with the requested domain name. DNS then returns the web page to which the IP has matched.
For example, you typed www.example.com. You are requesting the DNS to match the IP of www.example.com from the database and return the requested page. That’s how it works.
Why Domain Name Is Necessary?
Firstly, every business needs to have a website no matter how big or small your business is. You cannot do proper digital marketing of your business if you don’t have a website. It is because the websites are all in one place for businesses to put complete information. It offers users to see your business portfolio, clientage, and what not?
Secondly, websites are nothing without a domain name. Let’s say you want to invite your friends to your place. What can be your first step? Of course, you are inviting them to some address. You need to tell them the address of your home where you want to meet them, right? Similarly, a domain name is the address of your website.
When you are talking about your digital services or your website to someone, the first thing they gonna ask is the name of your website. Which simply means the domain name of your website. Moreover, try to keep the domain name short and simple so it can be easily remembered. A free domain name can be complex and long, which you can avoid. Buy a domain which you think is the best for you or your business.
Also, short and to-the-point names are good, attractive and people like them the most. So, keep in mind that domain names are made to cover the difficulty of IP addresses because they are complex. Just don’t make the process even more complex by making weird domain names. Keep them simple, alright?
Types Of Domains
There are various types of domains. Each is listed below.
1- Top-level Domain
Take an exemplary domain name like www.mybusiness.com. TLDs or top-level domains are basically the extensions at the end of your domain name. For example in www.mybusiness.com, the top-level domain will be .com. Here, www.mybusiness.com will be different from www.mybusiness.net. You are not bound to select .com but you have various options to choose from. For example, .com, .net, .org, etc.
By the passage of time, the internet has been expanded so much and there are billions of domains registered now. ICANN is handling the DNS and keeping the record of domain names so everyone could the unique one for themselves.
- ccTLD – ccTLDs or country code top-level domains are those which have the extensions according to the country it is made for. For example, you can purchase domain name with .ca extension for Canada and .us for the United States. So many other options are also available that you can choose from.
- gTLD – Generic top-level domain or gTLD is the one that you can use for either your business or institute, etc. For example, you can select .edu for educational purposes, .com for business, .org for an organization, etc. There are also cool and new options available like .blog, .io, .art, etc.
2- Second-level Domain
Are you completely done with top-level domains? Now let’s understand what is a second-level domain. The second-level domain is actually the name that you decide for your website. It is quite simple. For example, you have an organization named “newtech”. You might be thinking of having a website with the name www.newtech.org. In this case, “newtech” is the second-level domain.
You should be completely focused while selecting the second-level domain because you cannot change it later. Yes, you can’t change your website name once you selected it. Therefore, full concentration is required while choosing the one. Also, your domain name reflects your business or its type. You definitely wouldn’t like the wrong or the irrelevant one, right?
Right down are some options that you have in your mind regarding your website. Then see if those domain names are already registered or not. Again, keep the name of your website pretty simple to be easily accessible for everyone.
3- Third-level Domain
Keeping in mind the above example of www.mybusiness.com, the third-level domain will be www. By default the third-level domain is www. You can see options for this too.
4- Free VS Premium Domain
As we’ve discussed earlier that your domain is needed to be as simple as possible. Keeping that in mind, free domain names can cause complex URLs. You must be wondering how? See, when you are building a website on free platforms like WordPress or Wix, they offer various free domain options. You may have mybusiness.com or newtech.com in mind.
Now being on a free domain, you cannot have www.mybusiness.com. Instead, they will offer www.mybusiness.wordpress.com or something like that. You need to upgrade your website to some premium domain to avoid that thing.
From all the domain types, you can buy domains at cheap prices. If not, premium domains are available. What does it mean? Let’s say someone has already booked the domain that you want to buy. What you can do? You can offer that person some handsome amount to buy that premium domain. Maybe they are waiting for your offer. In this manner, you can have your desired domain. Hope you have now understood the concept of cheap domain, free & premium domains.
What Are Sub-Domains?
Sub-domains are followed by the main domain. For example, if you have a website mybusiness.com, your sub-domain can be blog.mybusiness.com. You can have multiple sub-domains. Sub-Domain cannot exist without your main domain. You can easily have a sub-domain.
How To Choose A Domain Name?
First, you need to think about the type or name of your business. Then see if there are specific names that your need to deal with.
Also, see if your desired domain name is registered already or not. You can easily search it at Apachis. You can make an offer if it is already registered. If not, simply buy a domain at a reasonable price.
How To Register Domain Name?
Registering a domain name is not a complex process. You can register a domain through some simple steps.
- Go to Apachis website.
- Go to the register domain section.
- Search for the domain name which you want to register.
- There will occur many options below that you can choose from. You can also choose a domain name with some other extension that you may like if no other is available.
- Select one domain.
- Add it to the cart.
- Enter your card details and checkout! That how simple it is.
Also, you will also need hosting for your website to be seen online. You can also choose a hosting package here on Apachis. You can add multiple websites to one hosting. If you are running a business, you can choose a website hosting from our business hosting plans. Also, there are multiple hosting options available for people who are running standalone websites.
Also, you can further see on Apachis what is domain name is and how you can complete the buying process.
Frequently Asked Questions:
1- How to choose the best domain name?
Domain names are sometimes tricky to choose. The best domain name is the one that matches your social networks too. For example, if your domain name matches the username of your Facebook, Linkedin, or Twitter account, this could be a better option to choose.
2- What is SLL?
You might have seen websites with HTTP & HTTPS differences. The last “S” in HTTPS is basically the SSL. SSL or secure socket layer enables the encryption of links between the user and the server. It is an essential part of websites where online transactions have to have happened. Not only the eCommerce website, but SSL is also vastly required by every website now.
3- Are free domains a good option to choose from?
It is a good option if it is your first website and you are experimenting on how to build a website or just trying to make referential content. But for businesses, it is not a good option.
4- Should I buy sub-domains?
Not necessarily. But according to the need of it. If your website is working fine without a sub-domain, you can skip it. But if you think you need it for funnels or something like that.
Final Verdict
Above all different types of domains, you can easily categorize your website name according to your business. This can help you choose your domain professionally. Keep in mind the stats of every step to be on track. Finding the right domain is not difficult at all. This just can be tricky sometimes. It happens when you are dealing with many other social accounts while handling your website.
It is ideal to choose a domain name relevant to all other social accounts regarding your business. This will help people to find you and categorize you as the leading business holders. You can either name your website first then choose usernames for other accounts or vice versa. It is a common practice nowadays.
All the steps included are professionally done practices and a better way to choose a domain name. You first need to have complete knowledge of what is domain name, so you can choose wisely. If you’re new, don’t worry. You can contact us anytime if you are dealing with any confusion.
