Why do domain names exist?

Domain names are necessary because the addresses with which computers on the vast network of the Internet actually communicate are IP addresses: strings of twelve numbers (arranged as ###.###.###.###), which of course are very difficult to find and remember. As soon as the Internet began to gain popularity outside of technical research institutions, it was realised that some more human-friendly system would have to be developed.

The solution to this problem was the Domain Name System or DNS. When a web address is typed into a web browser, your computer checks with the DNS to see to which IP address it belongs. Your browser can then redirect to that IP address and hence to the appropriate website.

What is a domain name?

A domain name is part of a web address. Take the address below as an example:

http://www.domainmonster.com/domain_registration/

The "http://" part tells the web browser what sort of information it is going to retrieve, and how to do so. The "/domain_registration/" part is the specific folder path of the files that you want to retrieve on the remote computer. The remaining part – www.domainmonster.com – is the domain name. This is the name that your computer checks with the DNS to find out which IP address to direct you to.

When the DNS system was developed, a sort of hierarchy of addresses was intended. You will notice that there is an extension at the end of all domain names – in this case, as in millions of others, it is ".com". This is called the top-level domain or TLD. Other top-level domains include .net, .biz and .info; there are also country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs) like .uk or .au, which relate to different regions or countries.

Different TLDs and ccTLDs are administrated by different companies or organisations. The official registrar for the .com TLD, for example, is a US company called VeriSign. Most .uk second-level domains (such as .co.uk) are managed by Nominet.

Why do I need a domain name?

A domain name will make your website much easier to find, it looks businesslike, and it does not show you to be affiliated with any other company; if you are using free web hosting provided by your ISP, or indeed are just using the address given to you by your hosting provider, their name will be included in your address. It is far better to have a name that is all your own. Also, you can then use email addresses which end in your domain name, giving your business a professional image.

"How do I buy a domain name?"

Technically, acquiring a Domain Name is more like a lease than a purchase, because you will have to renew your purchase between every one and ten years, in order to retain control of the domain name. The process is called registration. Most registrars will remind you to renew your domain name when the expiry date draws near. What you are renting is the second-level domain (e.g. the "domainmonster" portion of www.domainmonster.com) from the company that controls the top-level domain. Obviously if you register a .co.uk address, it is a third-level domain you are leasing. Once you’ve registered your domain name, you are free to create as many sub-level domains as you wish: for example, if you registered mywebsite.com, you could then use www.mywebsite.com or uk.mywebsite.com. However, you must remember to renew your domain registration when necessary, or it may be registered by someone else.

Many registrars such as Nominet and VeriSign do not actually assign domain names themselves. This is instead carried out by registrars like DomainMonster, who perform the registration and send the registration fee to the registry. The advantage of this is that you can use the same registrar to check the availability of your chosen domain with a whole variety of different TLDs: you can check for mywebsite.com, mywebsite.co.uk, .net, .biz, .info and so on. Whatever your selection, your registrar will deal with the different companies involved, but you only interact with the registrar, which makes things much easier for you.

You can check the availability of your chosen domain name by visiting domainmonster.com and typing the name into the search box.

Author: Natalie Catchpole