Domain Names Explained

One of the most crucial preconditions for creating a successful web presence is the domain name. It is what visitors will discern first when they visit your site and what they will associate you with. The domain name should be easy to memorize, but should also be something that informs your site's visitors what the web page is about.

Generic Top-Level Domain Names (gTLDs)

A domain name traditionally consists of 2 parts - a Top-Level Domain (TLD) and a Second-Level Domain (SLD). If you have domain.com, for example, ".com" is the TLD and "domain" is the Second-Level Domain Name. There are a few categories of Top-Level Domain Names that you should contemplate prior to selecting the domain name you want. Your selection should be based on the purpose of your website and on its target spectators. Let's take a gaze at the gTLDs, or generic TLDs - these are the most widespread Top-Level Domain Names meant to denote a particular function - .com (business enterprises), .net (networks), .biz (companies), .info (informative web pages), .org (organizations), .mobi (mobile devices), .asia (the Asia Pacific), .name (persons or families), .pro (particular professions), and so on. As you can see, these Top-Level Domains cover most spheres of life, so you should opt for the one that would portray the objective of your site best. There is no limitation as to who can register such domain names, but some of them contain additional steps to confirm that you qualify to keep such a domain name (.mobi and .pro, for instance).

Country-code Top-Level Domain Names (ccTLDs)

The ccTLDs, or country-code Top-Level Domain Names, 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 page visitors is from a given country. Many persons would want to buy commodities or services from a local site, and if your aim is Canada, for instance, opting for a .ca domain name could increase the visits to your site.

URL Forwarding

You can register different domains, which can redirect your web site's visitors to a given web site such as domain.com, for instance. This would raise the traffic and lower the possibility of someone snatching your web page visitors by using the same name with another Top-Level Domain - if you are not utilizing a trademark.

Name Servers (NSs)

Every domain has domain name records. The name server records (NS records, aka DNS records) show where the domain name is hosted, in other words they point to the web hosting firm whose name servers (NSs, a.k.a. DNSs) it is utilizing at the moment. You can switch the name servers of your domain name whenever you wish. You can have your domain name registered with one provider and get the hosting service itself from another. Thus, if you register your domain name and discover decent website hosting plans somewhere else at a later time, you can point your domain name to the new provider's NSs at once.

Domain Name Server Records (DNS Records)

On the whole, as long as your domain name uses a given pair of NSs, all its name server records will point to the same hosting vendor. Some website hosting vendors, though, allow you to modify specific DNS records, like the A records and the MX records of your domain name. The A record is an IP address, which designates on which web server your web page is hosted, whereas the MX records reveal which server tackles the e-mail accounts associated with your domain name. For example, if you appoint a new site designer and he creates an .ASP web page that will be accommodated on his private 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. In this way, www.domain.com will direct to the Windows server, but your email mailbox accounts or any sub-domain names like forum.domain.com or shop.domain.com will still be in your present Linux hosting account. The .ASP platform is built by Microsoft and calls for a Windows hosting server, although a Linux hosting server would be way more secure.

Cut-Price Top-Level Domains Brought by 'Tugoats'

Only a few web hosting suppliers allow you to modify particular NS records and quite frequently this an additional paid service. With us, you get an extensive selection of TLDs to choose from and you can modify all domain name server records or redirect the domains via a redirection tool at no added charge.