What are Domain Names

One of the most vital preconditions for having a successful Internet presence is the domain name. It is what visitors will discern first when they come across your web site and what they will associate you with. The domain name should be easy to memorize, but should also be something that informs your visitors what the website is about.

Generic Top-Level Domain Names (gTLDs)

A domain name as a rule consists of 2 parts - a Top-Level Domain (TLD) and a Second-Level Domain Name (SLD). If you have domain.com, for example, ".com" is the TLD and "domain" is the Second-Level Domain Name. There are a few sets of Top-Level Domain Names that you should consider before you choose the domain name you wish. Your decision should rest on the purpose of your web site and on its target audience. Let's have a peek at the gTLDs, or generic TLDs - these are the most widespread Top-Level Domain Names aimed to designate a given function - .com (business enterprises), .net (networks), .biz (firms), .info (informational sites), .org (non-profit organizations), .mobi (mobile devices), .asia (the Asia Pacific region), .name (persons or families), .pro (specific walks of life), etc. As you can perceive, these TLDs cover most spheres of life, so you should choose the one that would indicate the purpose of your website best. There is no restriction as to who can register such domain names, but some of them contain additional procedures to confirm that you are eligible to possess such a domain name (.mobi and .pro, for instance).

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. Opting for such a domain name is good if your target group of web page visitors is from a specific country. Many guys would sooner buy goods or services from a local site, and if your aim is Canada, for example, choosing a .ca domain name could boost the visits to your website.

URL Redirection

You can register a number of domain names, which can forward your website's visitors to a certain site such as domain.com, for example. This would increase the traffic and decrease the likelihood of somebody stealing your visitors by registering the same Second-Level Domain Name with a different Top-Level Domain - if you are not availing of a trademark.

Name Servers (NSs)

Every Top-Level Domain has domain name records. The name server records (NS records, a.k.a. DNS records) display where the domain name is hosted, i.e. they point to the web hosting provider whose name servers (NSs, also known as DNSs) it is utilizing at the moment. You can modify the NSs of your domain at any moment. You can have your domain name registered with one provider and get the web hosting service itself from another. Thus, if you register your domain name and come across decent website hosting solutions somewhere else at a later time, you can point your domain name to the current provider's name servers straight away.

Domain Name Server Records (DNS Records)

In general, as long as your domain name uses a certain pair of DNSs, all its DNS records will point to the same website hosting vendor. Some web hosting suppliers, though, allow you to modify specific records, among them the A records and the MX records of your domain name. The A record is an Internet Protocol address, which shows on which web server your website is situated, while the MX records specify which web hosting server tackles the electronic mail accounts related to your domain name. For instance, if you hire a new web designer and he constructs an .ASP web page that will be hosted on his personal Windows web hosting server, you may desire to change only the IP address (the A record) but not the MX records of your domain. So, www.domain.com will direct to the Windows web server, but your e-mailboxes or any sub-domains such as forum.domain.com or shop.domain.com will still be in your present Linux website hosting account. The .ASP platform is built by Microsoft and requires a Windows hosting server, even though a Linux web hosting server would be way more secure.

Moderately Priced Top-Level Domain Names Courtesy of 'openmindcloud.io'

Just a few web hosting companies permit you to modify given name server records and quite frequently this an extra paid service. With us, you have a huge array of Top-Level Domain Names to pick from and you can edit all records or forward the domains using a redirection tool at no extra cost.