What is a Domain Name

A domain name is a short name for your website. It is the identity of your website in alphabets instead of numbers that are easy to understand. When a user types a website’s domain name in a server, it locates its IP address and takes the user to the website owning that domain. 

In the past, when someone had to open a website, he had to type the IP address (that is, a group of unique numbers for every website) in the search bar. It was challenging to remember an IP address and to mention it in advertisements. For the solution to this problem, a DNS system was introduced. DNS stands for Domain Name System. It changed the internet world completely by making IP addresses human-friendly. Now almost every website has a domain name, and a large number of servers support DNS.

Domain names are managed by ICCAN, which is a nonprofit organization. It makes sure that a single website uses one domain name without identity issues.  

No one can have a website without a domain, so this article will be helpful in choosing a domain name for a personal website. 

 Domain Name Structure 

To understand the structure of a domain name, you must first make it clear that a domain name is different from a URL. URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the complete address of a website. It contains a domain name and other information, including domain names’ extensions and top-level domains (TLDs).  

Now let’s look at the structure of the domain name:  

 The fully qualified domain name (FQDN) consists of 3 parts: 

 

1. Subdomain

 

A subdomain is placed before the first dot of the domain name. For example: in the domain name www.cakeservices.com, ‘www’ is the subdomain. If you want to point out or draw attention to the exact nature of the content, you can change the subdomain to another name. 

For instance, we can write www.cakeservices.com as birthday.cakeservices.com giving the idea of birthday cakes on the given website. It gives the new web address. The great news is that we don’t require buying a new domain name when we change the subdomain.  

 

2. The actual Domain name or SLD (Second Level Domain)

 

It is the name that is used as a representative and recognition of the website in the way that when people want to open a particular website, they will type this name. We buy it from domain name registrars. SLD makes every domain name unique. One domain name can be used only for one website. 

Example: let’s take a fictitious domain name; 

www.cakeservices.com Here, the ‘cake services’ is the SDL.  

 

3. Top-Level Domain (TLD)

 

TLD comes after the second-level domain. It is the top-level domain that is attached to SLD. It gives recognition to your Brand. It is necessary to choose TLDs along with SLDs when buying a domain name from a domain name registrar. Some famous TLDs are .org, .com, .ed etc. 

Domain Name Extension

Domain Name Extension is the part of the domain name following the dot after SLD. 

The domain name extensions were built to specify the domain names to a specific group. For example, .com was used for commercial purposes but later, as they expanded and they became less rigid.  

Types of Domain Name Extensions: 

There are three main types of domain name extensions that are; 

Generic Extensions 

These are the generic domain name extensions that include all the popular TLDs like .org, .net .com, .info etc. 

In the past, there was a limited list of gTLDs, but around 2011, ICCAN allowed recognizable companies to register their TLDs like .goolge, .mitsubishi, etc. Besides this, we have TLDs for business purposes and different geographical areas as well.  

Country Code Domain Name Extensions 

These are the country domains, each representing a different country; for example, .uk is used for the United Kingdom, .ch is used for Japan and the list goes on. There are approximately 312 ccTLDs for different countries. 

Sponsored Domain Name Extensions 

These are the domains that a specific group sponsors for a specific purpose. For instance, .gov is reserved for government-related websites, .travel is for the travel agencies, etc. There are 14 sTLDs right now, which are very low as compared to gTLDs and ccTLDs. 

How to Choose the Best Domain Name

Your domain name is a critical part of your website identity. It is tricky to select the perfect domain name for your website. Any mistake can rank you lower and shoot you out from the competition. 

If you choose a domain name wisely, it will help grow your business fast, or else you will stay miles away from your goals.  

Here we have gathered some tips that will be helpful in choosing a domain name for a business website.  

 1. Choose a Unique Name

When you are burning the oil to choose the perfect Domain Name, consider that it has to be memorable and catchy. There are millions of domain names on the internet, so choosing the unique one is tricky. First of all, do some research about your competitors. Observe for what they are highly ranked. You will then be able to select a unique and attractive domain name for you. 

2. Choose Easy Type Domain Name

The domain name you choose should be easy to type. It should not be difficult to understand. If it is difficult, people won’t bother to search multiple times and go to another website. You can do this by avoiding double letters and hyphens in the domain name.  

 3. Choose a Brand able Name

Your domain name is the recognition of your business. So it should be high standard and dynamic. It should not sound over or unnatural. Avoid details in it.  

 4. Choose “.com” Domain First

In spite of the truth that many new domain extensions are on the internet nowadays, there is no competitor of .com. You already know that .com is the most used TLD, and almost half of the websites on the internet are using it. Using .com domain extension will make your domain name trustworthy. So, prefer it, and in case you do not get it, then go for other famous extensions like .net .org, etc. 

5. Avoid Hyphens & Number in Domain Name

If you add hyphens and numbers in your domain name, it will be considered spam. Visitors will think that you could not buy the actual domain name; that is why you have selected the one with hyphens and numbers. They will prefer visiting your competitor’s websites that will affect the traffic of your website. 

6. Avoid Double Letters

Keeping a Double letter domain name is a bad practice for your business because it will be more prone to typos. For example: if you have the domain name www.cakeeeeservices.com instead of www.cakeservices.com audience will find it difficult to type it right. So they will open any other website with a simple and easy domain name which will be immensely threatening for the traffic. 

 

 7. Avoid Trademark Domain

 

If you own a trademark domain of any business, it can contact you anytime and ask you for money in exchange for using their trademark domain. It can approach you through the court by blaming you. So it is essential to avoid Trademark Domain. Before you select a domain, check it on different social media sites whether it is trademarked. 

8. Check Social Networks

Before purchasing a domain, check it on all social networks. If it is already available, then it means that the registrar is giving you an already sold domain that definitely would not work for you. This little precaution can save you from wasting money. 

9. Check the Domain History via who.is

Some registrars sell fake domain names or the ones that are already sold or need to be renewed. Before buying a domain, check the domain history via who.is. It will give all the details about it. 

10. Consider Enabling Domain ID Protection

If your domain details are available on WHOIS, everyone can access them. It is harmless if people approach you and ask you to sell your domain. You can simply respond to them by telling them whether you want to sell it or not. But the problem starts when hackers access additional information about your website through WHOIS, and it is so common. They can use this data for phishing, fraud, or other purposes. 

So it is necessary to enable Domain ID protection so that no one can see any details. 

Best Domain Name Providers Company

Are you looking for the best domain registrar? Do not worry. Here we have listed the best domain name provider companies for you.  

●       Domain.com 

If you are struggling to choose the best domain name, then Domain.com is a perfect choice. It is working since 1998. It has registered more than 1 million domains. 

It offers very relevant and easy-to-use domains. It also provides WHOIS protection at a reasonable price. 

●       Namecheap.com 

It is famously known for providing domains at a very affordable price. Until now, it has been a platform for more than 9 million domains. It allows you to transfer domains to this registrar if you have registered them somewhere else. Surprisingly, it offers WHOIS privacy for free. 

●       Google Domains

Google is undoubtedly the most trustable USA domain registration provider. It has cleared all the confusion about renewing the domain by keeping the domain purchase and renewal price the same. It also offers WHOIS privacy as a bonus. 

●       GoDaddy.com

GoDaddy is the biggest registrar company to sell domains. It has crossed selling over 60 million domains which are 18 percent of the domain market in total. In short, It is the best domain name registration company in the USA.  

You can purchase the domain along with other tools as well in the package. You can also register your domain for more than one year.  

ANIKA HOSTING DOMAIN NAME SERVICES

Anika hosting domain name service helps you to choose the best domain name for your website. Its priority is to protect, speed up, and keep its clients’ websites active all the time. Despite these benefits, it is very cheap. The packages are highly affordable.  

It provides a money-back guarantee as well. If you do not like its service, it will return your money. So what else do you need? Would you find this much loyalty anywhere else? 

Conclusion:

It is quite important to keep you updated about the latest approach in E-commerce. If you are thinking of launching a website, a domain name is indeed the essential component. All the traffic and ranking are based on it. We hope this article has helped you to figure out what a domain name is. We have tried to sum up the information about the best domain registrars. Now you won’t face any difficulty in choosing the best domain name.