Domain Name Basics
An Internet domain name is used to identify a particular web site or business on the Internet. Think of it in terms of a “easily human recognisable address or location of an Internet business”.
For example, the very recognisable Google.com!
A domain name is, simply, a name, followed by a dot (.) followed by an extension (com) – so you can have domainname.com, domainname.net, domainname.org
You can also have country specific extensions – e.g. domainname.co.uk, or domainname.com.au, or even domainname.com.tv (originally the top level domain reserved for the small Pacific island nation of Tuvalu)
There are also “specialty” extensions recently available which include names like domainname.info, domainname.biz, domainname.name etc.
Each domain name is unique, and will only ever point to one web site.
Most domain names are reasonably cheap to purchase through a Domain Name Registrar – e.g. .com names are usually under $10 a year) – however the country and specialty ones may come with a much higher price tag.
Remember to renew your domain name when it falls due, or someone else may take it from you!
More Reading:
Domain Names and the Domain Name System (DNS)
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