What are domain names and how they work

It almost seems silly to me to answer the question “What are domain names?”. It is almost akin to someone who has been driving for years asking “What is a street address?”

I have watched beginners and followed various reports and keyword lists to determine the following:

- average World Wide Web users tend to refer to domain names as “website names.” It seems to be fairly common practice. However, the name of a website often is not totally reflected in the the domain name. Domain names and websites are intertwined in users minds. Of course there is a very tight relationship between the two, however most don’t recognize the inherent value in a domain name which is totally separate from its connection to website content.

- many people do not use the address bar of their web browser to type in a web address. I am amazed when I look at keyword lists and find that people are typing in “google” and “yahoo”. What does this mean? It means people use their default home page in their browser (usually provided by their ISP) to search for these websites. They could have just as easily set the Home function of their browser or typed in the URL directly. I know, it seems weird to search for “google”.

It seems to me that many may not know what a domain name is after all.

Take the following URL: http://www.example.com

It has three main parts:

1. The protocol: http://
2. The Host Name: www
3. The domain name: example.com

The domain name itself can be broken into two parts:

1. The Top Level Domain (TLD): .com (.org, .net are other examples of TLDs)
2. the second level domain: example

Third level domains exist as well and are known as subdomains. Example: subdomain.example.com

It is best to think of domains like addresses on a house. Websites are the houses or buildings and domain names are the addresses.
However, domain are probably more like the land upon which the house is built. A domain has value (just like land), whether or not their is website content associated with it.

There are several resources that are helpful in further understanding the Internet and Domain Names.

• How the Internet Runs – A audio slide show that explains the history of the Internet, the structure of the internet and the agencies involved in maintaining various aspects of the Internet. It runs 35 mins. You need to use IE in order to view it. There is a section at the end which introduces domain names.
• How the DNS Works – Picks up where the above leaves off. Explains the Domain Naming System. Runs 25 mins.

These two resources are excellent for beginners. There is the occasional slip-up by the presenter, but overall the content is good.

For more information about choosing quality domain names, download my Domain Name Handbook. Written for beginners, The Domain Name Handbook takes a simple look at choosing, registering and managing domain names.