Domain Names Defined

One of the most vital prerequisites for setting up a successful Internet presence is the domain name. It is what visitors will mark first when they visit your web site and what they will associate you with. The domain name should be easy to remember, but should also be something that informs your site's visitors what the web page is about.

Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs)

A domain name typically contains 2 parts - a Top-Level Domain Name (TLD) and a Second-Level Domain Name (SLD). If you have domain.com, for example, ".com" is the Top-Level Domain Name and "domain" is the Second-Level Domain. There are a couple of sets of TLDs that you should examine before you choose the domain name you desire. Your pick should depend on the purpose of your website and on its target visitors. Let's examine the gTLDs, or generic Top-Level Domains - these are the most typical TLDs meant to signify a given purpose - .com (business establishments), .net (networks), .biz (companies), .info (informative websites), .org (non-profit organizations), .mobi (handheld devices), .asia (the Asia Pacific), .name (individuals or relatives), .pro (particular walks of life), and so on. As you can see, these Top-Level Domain Names encompass most realms of life, so you should pick the one that would describe the purpose of your web page best. There is no limitation as to who can register such domain names, but some of them contain additional requirements to verify that you qualify to have such a TLD (.mobi and .pro, for example).

Country-code Top-Level Domains (ccTLDs)

The ccTLDs, or country-code TLDs, are country-specific Top-Level Domain Names. Each country has its own ccTLD. Choosing such a domain name is good if your target group of web site visitors is from a certain country. Many visitors would prefer to buy goods or services from a local web site, and if your aim is Canada, for example, registering a .ca domain name could increase the visits to your web site.

URL Redirects

You can register a bunch of Top-Level Domains, which can send your web site's visitors to a specific web page like domain.com, for instance. This would increase the traffic and reduce the risk of somebody snatching your visitors by using the same Second-Level Domain with a different TLD - if you are not availing of a trademark.

Name Servers (NSs)

Each Top-Level Domain has domain name records. The name server records (NS records, also known as DNS records) show where the domain name is hosted, i.e. they point to the web hosting distributor whose name servers (NSs, also known as DNSs) it is utilizing at present. You can modify the name servers of your domain at any time. You can have your domain name registered with one firm and get the website hosting service itself from another. Hence, if you register your domain and stumble upon good website hosting packages somewhere else at a later time, you can point your domain name to the current company's DNSs instantly.

Domain Name Server Records (NS Records)

In general, as long as your domain utilizes a given pair of NSs, all its domain records will point to the same website hosting company. Some web hosting suppliers, though, enable you to edit given domain name server records, among them the A records and the MX records of your domain name. The A record is an IP address, which exhibits on which web server your website is located, whereas the MX records exhibit which web hosting server tackles the mail aliases associated with your domain name. For instance, if you hire a new site designer and he creates an .ASP site that will be located on his own Windows web hosting server, you may wish to alter just the Internet Protocol address (the A record) but not the MX records of your domain. Thus, www.domain.com will direct to the Windows web hosting server, but your email mailboxes or any sub-domain names such as forum.domain.com or shop.domain.com will still be in your present Linux website hosting account. The .ASP platform is invented by Microsoft and necessitates a Windows web hosting server, even though a Linux web hosting server would be far more dependable.

Inexpensive Top-Level Domains Courtesy of 'Business Web Hosts'

Only a number of web hosting providers enable you to edit specific domain records and quite often this an additional paid service. With us, you get an enormous selection of TLDs to pick from and you can modify all domain name records or forward the domains using a forwarding tool at no additional charge.