Domain Names Explained

One of the most vital prerequisites for creating a successful web presence is the domain name. It is what visitors will discern first when they come across your website and what they will associate you with. The domain name should be easy to memorize, but should also be something that notifies your web page's visitors what the website is about.

Generic Top-Level Domain Names (gTLDs)

A domain name typically is composed of two parts - a Top-Level Domain Name (TLD) and a Second-Level Domain Name (SLD). If you have domain.com, for instance, ".com" is the Top-Level Domain Name and "domain" is the Second-Level Domain Name. There are a few sets of Top-Level Domains that you should examine before you choose the domain name you wish. Your pick should be based on the purpose of your site and on its target audience. Let's have a glimpse at the gTLDs, or generic Top-Level Domain Names - these are the most popular Top-Level Domains intended to denote a specific function - .com (business organizations), .net (network infrastructures), .biz (businesses), .info (informational websites), .org (organizations), .mobi (handheld devices), .asia (the Asia Pacific region), .name (persons or families), .pro (qualified professionals), etc. As you can perceive, these Top-Level Domain Names encompass most spheres of life, so you should opt for the one that would show the aim of your website best. There is no limitation as to who can register such domain names, but some of them involve additional steps to confirm that you are eligible to have such a Top-Level Domain (.mobi and .pro, for example).

Country-code Top-Level Domain Names (ccTLDs)

The ccTLDs, or country-code Top-Level Domains, are country-specific domain names. Each country has its own ccTLD. Opting for such a domain name is good if your target group of web site visitors is from a given country. Many persons would elect to buy goods or services from a local web site, and if your target is Canada, for instance, getting a .ca domain name could boost the visits to your website.

URL Forwarding

You can register a bunch of Top-Level Domain Names, which can forward your website's visitors to a given web site like domain.com, for example. This would raise the traffic and reduce the risk of someone stealing your website visitors by using the same name with another Top-Level Domain - if you are not availing of a trademark.

Name Servers (NSs)

Each domain name has domain name records. The name server records (NS records, also known as DNS records) disclose where the domain name is hosted, in other words they point to the hosting provider whose name servers (NSs, also known as DNSs) it is utilizing at the moment. You can modify the NSs of your domain name whenever you wish. You can have your domain name registered with one provider and get the website hosting service itself from another. In this way, if you register your domain name and stumble upon good website hosting plans somewhere else at a later time, you can point your domain name to the current provider's DNSs instantly.

Domain Name Server Records (DNS Records)

In general, as long as your domain utilizes a specific pair of name servers, all its domain name records will lead to the same web hosting provider. Some website hosting providers, however, permit you to modify given DNS records, including the A records and the MX records of your domain name. The A record is an Internet Protocol address, which displays on which hosting server your site is situated, whereas the MX records indicate which hosting server tackles the email addresses associated with your domain name. For instance, if you hire a new site designer and he designs an .ASP web page that will be located on his private Windows web hosting server, you may desire to edit solely the Internet Protocol address (the A record) but not the MX records of your domain. So, www.domain.com will point to the Windows web server, but your e-mailboxes or any sub-domain names like forum.domain.com or shop.domain.com will still be in your present Linux web hosting account. The .ASP environment is devised by Microsoft and demands a Windows server, although a Linux hosting server would be way more secure.

Low-Priced TLDs Delivered by 'D3 Web Host'

Just a number of web hosting distributors allow you to edit certain NS records and very often this an additional paid service. With us, you have a big collection of Top-Level Domain Names to pick from and you can edit all DNS records or forward the domain names via a redirection tool at no additional cost.