Domain Names 101
What is a Domain Name
A domain name in its simplest form is just an Internet Website address. Just as your house or apartment has its own unique identifying address for the post office, so does each and every Website in existence.
The domain name system was originally created for the benefit of humans. The actual address used by computers is numerical in format and is referred to as an IP, or Internet Protocol, address. An IP address takes the form of four series of numbers separated by periods. An example of an IP address is 215.55.258.145, and as you can see this would not be easy for most of us to remember. So to compensate, the domain “name” system was created. Its much easier to remember a website named “thiswebsite.com” than it is to remember a number such as the one above, right?
Notice there is no @ symbol in the Website address. The @ symbol is normally used for email addresses only, thus (with rare exceptions) you would not be able to visit a website with an address such as ebooks@electronicperceptions.com. Instead you would send email to that address. You can usually take the last part of an email address and find a website with it though because everything after the @ symbol is normally the website at which this email address exists.
You have likely seen Website addresses that look like this: http://www.sasezpublications.com/user/~somename.
These are not really domain names in full, but rather they are subsections of a domain name. The actual domain name is http://www.sasezpublications.com and the rest of the address denotes where on that domain you would like to view pages. So if you were to have your website at the location above, you would not have your own domain. Instead you would have web pages hosted in a directory on someone else’s domain.
Types of Domain Names
The most common type of domain is a “dot com”. This simply means the domain name has a .com extension at the end of it. There are many other types of domain names you can get and we summarize the biggest ones below.
Original Domain Extensions
- .com - This is the most popular and well known domain name extension. It signifies a commercial website, however many personal sites use this extension as well.
- .net - This is the second most popular and normally signifies a network of some kind such as people, places, communities and computer banks.
- .org - This was originally reserved for non profit organizations only, however many personal and commercial sites have started using this extension recently.
- .edu - This extension signifies an educational institution website. Only accredited educational institutes can acquire a domain name with the dot edu extension.
- .gov - This signifies a US government website and is restricted to US government only.
New domain extensions were approved in 2000 and were expected to become available in the second quarter of 2001. Some were finally available in late 2001, while others have not yet been implemented.
- .aero - Air Transport Industry
- .biz - For Businesses (Available as of 2004)
- .coop - Non-profit cooperatives
- .info - Unrestricted Use (Available as of 2004)
- .museum - For Museums
- .name - Personal domain registrations (Available as of 2004)
- .pro - For professionals such as accountants, doctors and lawyers.
As you explore the Web in depth, you’ll notice there are many other domain name extensions. These usually signify a country origin however they are sometimes used to signify the Website focus. Dot tv is a good example (.tv). Originally used as a country origin extension, it has recently become popular for Television related Websites. If you’re interested in knowing which domain extension is used in a specific country, you’ll find lists online at almost any search engine. Simply visit any search engine and enter “international domain extensions”, “international domain names” or similar search terms.
Why you need a Domain Name
If you are like some people, you may be wondering what the big deal is with getting a domain name. Why does anyone want or even need one? Well the answers can vary with circumstances, however there are some pretty simple initial reasons.
Individuals sometimes like to have their own domain for vanity or notoriety reasons. Other times they have a family or genealogy Website and having a domain name for that site helps it to be found and remembered easier. For instance if your name is Sheila Brooks, you could try to get the domain name of “sheilabrooks.com” so that anyone looking for you online would easily find you. If you have a family Website then a domain name such as “brooksfamily.com” would give it a nice touch. If you are an up and coming author, artist, activist, volunteer or otherwise it would also give you a unique and memorable address with which to promote your causes.
In the business world, domain names are becoming as common as telephone and fax numbers. If your advertisements and business cards don’t display a domain name, you run the risk of being completely passed over by customers that prefer to browse merchandise and services online.
A good domain name is vital for a business. If the name does not match your business name or slogan then it must be closely related to one or both. Your domain name must also be easy to remember so that customers do not have to work hard to find your site online. Having a registered domain name with a live Website is sometimes the first priority for a business today, because it is a very inexpensive way to get your business name and information in front of the public.
Other primary reasons for a business to register one or more domain names is to protect copyrights and trademarks, secure unique product names and increase their brand awareness with the public.
How to get a Domain Name
Once you have decided to get a domain name, it’s normal to immediately become confused by all of the options available and often it is difficult to find answers to your individual questions. This area should resolve most of those problems for you.
First, let’s review the issue of domain “registration” because this is important to fully understand. When you register a domain, you are technically only licensing it for a set number of years. You do not own the domain indefinitely and thus the domain can be registered by someone else in the future if you do not renew your registration. This is extremely important if you want to retain rights to a specific name, trademark, product name or otherwise. This is also important if you build up a significant web traffic and business, because if your registration lapses and someone else registers your domain, all of the hard work you put into building traffic and customers will be diverted to the new owner. So just as you must renew a business license, driver’s license, and other things in life, you must also renew domain name registrations.
Now before you can order a domain name, you must first search to see if the name you want is available. At the time of this writing there were 36,128,914 domains registered worldwide. With this number growing daily, finding one that you like may take a bit of work and ingenuity.
It is a good idea to sit down with pen and paper first, and come up with multiple options of names that you like. Domain names get scarcer and scarcer each day, so you may have to think of 50 or 100 before you’ll find one that is available.
One of my favorite strategies is to think of creative versions of a name. Take my original domain name for an example: SasEzPublications.com The business name was SasEz!™ Publications and SasEz! is just a creative way to spell “Sassy’s”. Because “Sassy” or “Sassys” are very common spellings, I wanted to be unique right from the get go, thus I invented the spelling “SasEz!” instead. My very first business was SasEz! Design. And the domain name? You may have guessed: sasezdesyn.com. Notice how “desyn” is a variation on the proper spelling of “Design”. Manipulating the spelling in this way was catchy and memorable, and it worked beautifully. I also had no trouble finding that domain available back when I originally registered it! So, when creating a list of domain names to register for yourself, think of some creative spellings as well.
One more excellent trick to use when searching for good, available domain names – and cashing in on some great web site traffic – is to use common mis-spellings. For instance if your business has the word “Business” in it, you might consider registering a domain name with that word spelled as “bizness” or “busines” since these are common mistakes in spelling that people tend to make. If your first choice is available, definitely register that domain. However if you are able to register additional domains, then consider picking up creative spelling variations of your primary domain for backup purposes.
Now, once you have your list of preferred domain names, you must search the WHOIS Database to see if the names are already registered to someone else. Note that the WHOIS database only searches US domains. If you need to research available domains for alternate country extensions you will need to go to search tools for those specific countries. Searching is easy and free, and can be done from hundreds of sites online.
Domain Name Trademarks & Licensing
An important fact to know about domain names is that they are not cross referenced with any existing trademarks or copyrights. In other words if you happen upon a domain such as “www.wallmart.com” and registered it, then you could be contacted by lawyers from WalMart (the US national discount store chain) because you are using a domain that resembles their trademarked name too closely. I wont drag you through the ins and outs of the domain name legalities, primarily because this is still a very grey area. I do want you to be aware however, that just because the domain name is available in the WHOIS database that does not mean that the trademark or copyright of the name is not taken. It also does not guarantee that the same domain does not exist with another country extension. For instance there could be www.walmart.com, www.walmark.uk, www.walmart.tv, etc. and depending on the WHOIS database you’re using, it will not likely show the .uk and .tv domain registrations.
Once you have found one or more domain names available that you want to register, you will need to order them. Ordering the domain means that you will pay a fee to license the exclusive use of the domain for a set number of years. Up until a few years ago, you had to pay for a minimum two-year license at once. However, now you can register a US domain for as little as one year, or as long as 10 years. The cost of a US domain registration varies from a low of $10 to a high of $35 per year. Many places will give you a discount for multiple year registrations so if you want to secure a name for 10 years, it will be cheaper in the long run.
To register a domain name you must pay immediately by credit card. There used to be some companies that allowed you to send a wire transfer or paper check, however the domain was not registered in your name until your payment arrived. Because of this you ran the risk of having the domain name registered by someone else in the time it took for your payment to reach its destination. At the time of writing this fourth update in Sept. 2003, I’m not aware of any companies that still accept non credit card payments for the initial domain name registration. Some still accept checks for domain name renewals.
Once your payment has been processed, it can take from 24 - 72 hours to show as registered in the WHOIS database. There is no reason for worry though. If someone else were to come along even five minutes after you and attempt to register the same domain, they would eventually receive a notice that you had registered it first and thus the domain belonged to you.
How to use your Domain Name
Now that you have a domain name, you may be wondering what exactly to do with it. Well the good news is there are several options.
Your first option is to just hold the domain for future use. This is generally referred to as “parking” the domain and doing so allows you to hold control over the specific domain name so that no one else can use it. This is normally done by those that intend to sell or develop the domain at a later date. If your domain is parked, you will not normally be able to type the address into a web browser and visit it because it is inactive. Sometimes you can use an email address for the domain even when the domain is parked.
If you want to be able to go to your domain name on the web and view pages for it - then you must either have URL forwarding services, or get a Website hosting account.
A URL forwarding service is similar to parking a domain, but you’re able to point that new domain to an existing one. You could point it to one of your own domain names, or point it to an affiliate program so it can generate a bit of spare cash for you until you decide to develop it fully.
Getting a hosting account provides you with server space and many other tools with which you can create a full fledged interactive Website.
Hosting options and prices vary greatly and can be a bit complicated. Because of that complexity and wealth of information, the topic of Website Hosting warrants a book of its own. This book may be released in the near future. Keep an eye on my main Website or at The Guru Gazette for announcements about it.
To get you started with researching hosting companies and options though, take a look at the packages you’ll find here, or comparison shop among many Website hosting companies.
The Hosting company listed above is the company I actually host my sites with. I personally know the owners and like the service, thus I’m comfortable recommending them to others. You’ll find hundreds of additional Hosting companies to review by going to any Website search engine and typing in the search terms “Web Hosting”, “Hosting” or “Website Hosting”.
What’s Next
Now that you have a much better understanding of domain names and how to register them, you’ll soon be looking for Web Site Hosting services (if you haven’t begun to already). This is another area that can be vast and confusing, but don’t get discouraged. There are a variety of places to find this information online, and at some point in the future I might even create an EBook just for that topic too. 
Thank you for reading the Domain Names 101 Ebook and we hope that you have found it useful! If you have comments, feedback or questions about this book feel free to drop by our Article Distribution Website - The Guru Gazette - or visit our Main Electronic Perceptions site.
by Kathy Burns
Source: IMENA.com.ua
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