Domain Names Explained

One of the most vital requirements for creating a successful web presence is the domain name. It is what people will notice first when they discover your web page and what they will identify you with. The domain name should be easy to remember, but should also be something that notifies your site's visitors what the web site is about.

Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs)

A domain name usually consists of 2 fragments - a Top-Level Domain (TLD) and a Second-Level Domain (SLD). If you have domain.com, for instance, ".com" is the Top-Level Domain Name and "domain" is the Second-Level Domain Name. There are several categories of Top-Level Domains that you should contemplate prior to choosing the domain name you wish. Your decision should be built upon the aim of your website and on its target spectators. Let's take a glance at the gTLDs, or generic Top-Level Domains - these are the most popular Top-Level Domains aimed to designate a specific function - .com (commercial organizations), .net (network infrastructures), .biz (businesses), .info (informational web pages), .org (non-profit organizations), .mobi (handheld devices), .asia (the Asia-Pacific), .name (individuals or relatives), .pro (certain walks of life), etc. As you can see, these TLDs cover most realms of life, so you should choose the one that would indicate the aim of your web site best. There is no limitation as to who can register such domain names, but some of them contain additional procedures to prove that you qualify to own such a domain (.mobi and .pro, for instance).

Country-code Top-Level Domain Names (ccTLDs)

The ccTLDs, or country-code TLDs, are country-specific domains. Each country has its own ccTLD. Selecting such a domain name is good if your target group of website visitors is from a certain country. Many visitors would rather buy goods or services from a local web page, and if your target is Canada, for instance, registering a .ca domain name could boost the visits to your web site.

URL Redirects

You can register a number of domain names, which can redirect your web site's visitors to a particular web page such as domain.com, for example. This would raise the traffic and reduce the likelihood of someone swiping your website visitors by registering the same Second-Level Domain Name with another TLD - if you are not using a trademark.

Name Servers (NSs)

Each Top-Level Domain has domain name records. The name server records (NS records, a.k.a. DNS records) exhibit where the domain name is hosted, i.e. they point to the web hosting company whose name servers (NSs, a.k.a. DNSs) it is using at the moment. You can substitute the NSs of your domain whenever you wish. You can have your domain registered with one firm and get the hosting service itself from another. So, if you register your domain and come across good website hosting packages someplace else afterwards, you can point your domain name to the present provider's name servers immediately.

Domain Name Server Records (NS Records)

On the whole, as long as your domain name utilizes a particular pair of DNSs, all its domain name records will lead to the same web hosting distributor. Some web hosting vendors, however, permit you to edit certain NS records, among them the A records and the MX records of your domain name. The A record is an Internet Protocol address, which specifies on which web hosting server your web page is hosted, whereas the MX records reveal which server handles the e-mail addresses associated with your domain name. For instance, if you appoint a new web designer and he designs an .ASP web site that will be hosted on his own Windows hosting server, you may wish to alter solely the Internet Protocol address (the A record) but not the MX records of your domain name. So, www.domain.com will point to the Windows hosting server, but your email address accounts or any sub-domain names such as forum.domain.com or shop.domain.com will still be in your present Linux hosting account. The .ASP platform is invented by Microsoft and demands a Windows server, although a Linux server would be far more dependable.

Affordably Priced Top-Level Domain Names Supplied by 'SunsetHost'

Only a number of web hosting distributors enable you to edit specific domain records and very frequently this an extra paid service. With us, you have an extensive selection of Top-Level Domain Names to pick from and you can modify all domain name server records or redirect the domains through a redirection tool at no added charge.