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A domain name is an addressing construct used for identifying and locating web sites on the Internet. Domain names provide a system of easy-to-remember Internet addresses, which can be translated by the Domain Name System (DNS) into a numeric address. This numeric address, called an Internet Protocol (IP) address, is actually used by computers and browsers to locate the web site.
A domain name is a unique identity on the Internet. In some ways, a domain name is similar to a customized license plate, which uniquely identifies the owner. A domain name secures visibility, name association and name recognition, for you, your company, your product or your service.
How important is it? It can be crucial to your identity on the Internet. For instance, if your company is named Enterprise, Inc., you'd want to secure a domain name of enterprise.com, for ease of recall, name and product identification and association. You will then continue to reinforce your unique identity with the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of http://www.enterprise.com, for your web site and the e-mail addresses of someone@enterprise.com, for those associated with your firm.
It is extremely important to register a domain name, as soon as possible, even though you may not have a web site for some time. Secure your unique identity now, before someone else registers it, because it will pay dividends in the future. Registering a domain name and our sponsorship of the domain, including e-mail forwarding aliases and a parking page.
IP Address: An Internet Protocol (IP) address is tied to the domain name. You may not know why an IP address is important and not even care to know the details, which demonstrates the effectiveness of the domain name system. Computers use the IP address, such as 123.4.57.250, to locate the pertinent web site. Domain names essentially hide the IP address from humans, since it is far easier for humans to remember the domain name and the individual, firm, product or service associated with it. IP addresses are 32 bit numbers, which consist of eight octets. They are expressed as four numbers between 0 and 255, which are separated by a dot, e.g. 123.4.57.250.
URL: The uniform resource locator is what is typically entered into a web browser, e.g. http://www.enterprise.com, so that you may view a specific web site.
Top Level Domain Name: A top level domain name (TLD) is the three character suffix of the URL, which is separated by a dot. There are currently six TLD names which are commonly available for registration:
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com - Commercial Organizations
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net - Networks, such as Network Providers
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org - Non-Profit Organizations
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edu - Educational Institutions
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gov - Governmental Agencies
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mil - Military Organizations
Country - Top Level Domain Name: In addition to the common domain names above, domain names can also be registered based upon the country. These are generally two character TLD's, as follow:
Second Level Domain Name: The second level domain name appears immediately to the left of the TLD name and is separated by a dot, e.g. "enterprise," as in enterprise.com, is the second level domain name.
Third Level Domain Name: The third level domain name (also called a sub domain name), if any, appears immediately to the left of the second level domain name and is separated by a dot, e.g. "mail," as in mail.enterprise.com, is the third level domain, or sub domain, name. Note that a third level domain name is Not the portion of the e-mail address which appears to the left of the @ symbol, e.g. "joe," as in joe@enterprise.com, is Not a third level domain name. However, "mail" in joe@mail.enterprise.com, is a third level domain name.
Valid Domain Names: For the purpose of domain name registration, domain names consist of a top level domain name (e.g. com) and a second level domain name (e.g. enterprise), separated by a dot. The domain name may be from 7 to 67 characters in length, including the dot and the TLD name, e.g. enterprise.com. This means that the second level domain name portion (e.g. enterprise) is limited to 63 characters. Domain names may only consist of letters, numbers and hyphens. Spaces and all other characters are Not allowed. Further, the second level domain name (e.g. "enterprise," as in enterprise.com) may not begin or end with a hyphen. For example:
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enterprise.com is a valid domain name for registration (14 characters in total).
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-enterprise.com is Not a valid domain name for registration, since it begins with a hyphen.
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enterprise*%.com is Not a valid domain name for registration, since it includes the illegal characters of "*" and "%".
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http://www.enterprise.com is Not a valid domain name for registration. It is a Uniform Resource Locator (URL).
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www.enterprise.com is Not a valid domain name for registration, since it includes a third level domain name (e.g. www).
Registrar: For years, Network Solutions (commonly called the InterNIC or the NIC for short) was the sole authority for, and registrar of, TLD names by contract with the U.S. Government. In 1998, however, the U.S. Government turned the process over to the private sector and today, there are many accredited registrars with the same registration authority as Network Solutions. We provide domain name registration services, which starts with a domain name search, to determine if the desired name is available.
Domain Name Availability: You can determine if your chosen domain name is available by using our domain name search.
Ownership: Domain names, which we register or transfer for our customers, are the customer's property. The customer is shown as the registrant and the administrative and billing contact for the domain.
Domain Activation: Activation with us, of new and transferred domains, is almost immediate. However, it generally takes some time for DNS servers to be updated world-wide. You and others might be able to see the new or moved web site earlier, while your neighbor might not, because of the ISP he uses. Most DNS servers are pre-programmed to expire their cache and get domain name updates automatically, but some just take longer.
Lame Domain: A domain is said to be "lame", when it does not resolve through a DNS server of authority and, therefore, does not serve at least a parking page. For instance, if you register XYZ.com, through a provider which does not provide parking & e-mail forwarding and you do not arange for the domain name to at least serve a parking page, it is said to be lame. We provide a parking page and e-mail forwarding when we register a domain name, in order to assure that the name is preserved for its registrant. |
