Table of Content
- Overview of Domain Name
- Domain name meaning?
- How is Domain name given?
- Top Level Domain Name
- Country Code Level Domain Name
- Second Level Domain Name
- Third Level Domain Name
Overview
Noticeably, domain name is what online visitors will type into the address bar of a web browser to access a website. For example google.com, amazon.com, lewbdesign.com and so on.
Technically speaking, domain name is the textual representation of an IP address, IP here stands for Internet Protocol.
IP address is an essential internet suites that connect computers globally.
However, the IP address in all its immense capability fall short as it is machine-readable, numerical and impossible to remember among internet users and administrators.
Domain Name were created using a Domain Name System to enhance IP address to be human readable and memorable.
Following the advancement of IP address, domain names were assigned level of connections, extensions and types.
Nowadays, domain name will normally be the face of your brand, and if you want to increase the chances of your website succeeding, then you’ll take the time to find a brandable and memorable domain name.
Knowing that domain name represents brands and your online business, have created concerns amongst web administrators over what type of domain names to use for a business, start ups, NGOs, government Parastatals, agency etc. To ensure its success on the world wide web and return of investment.
Interestingly, while surfing the web, don’t be stunned when you come across domain names ending with .xyz, .io, .biz etc they may not necessarily be a scam website or web applications. They are simply a Domain types as you will come to identify them after perusing this article.
This article is compiled to indicate the types of Domain Name.
Domain Name Meaning
At its essence, a domain name is what goes in between the protocol sign (HTTP://) and the first slash in a URL or web address.
For example: https://lewbdesign.com
Find out more what is a Domain Name here
“lewbdesign.com” sound simple and memorable. However, what you might not realize is that this domain name: “lewbdesign.com” is a stand-in that represents the computer or website’s IP address.
The computer here serves as the Hosting Server which is always connected to the internet intended to serve the contents of the website it hosts on request by online visitors.
Learn more about Web server here
Every single device (either computer or smartphones) that uses the internet is given an IP address. That IP address is a distinctive identifier ascribed to the device that cannot be used by a different device simultaneously.
As exciting as this may seem, IP address can be complicated, numerical, and very frustrating to remember.
This gave rise to the use of Domain name to stand in for IP address. So we can easily remember and type on our web browser: facebook.com, myspace.com, amazon.com among others.
How are domain name given?
It is comely to ask the above, given that IP addresses are unique to every device connected to the internet.
Interestingly, this same feature applies also to domain name. This is why facebook.com is unique anywhere in the world.
So how are Domain names given? Well,
Domain names are managed by an organization known as ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers).
This organization will specify what domain names and domain name extensions are available. They also maintain a massive database of every location that domain names point to.
They are able to assign and manage domain names around the globe using a system called the Domain Name System (DNS for short).
The DNS simply maps your domain name to a specific server where your website is located.
Most hosting service provider would facilitate the process after your domain name is purchased from them.
Types of Domain Name
Regardless of the Hosting service providers, there five (5) different domain names:
Top-Level Domains
Top-level domains as their name implies are at the top of the internet hierarchy of domain names.
For example, by the mid-1990s, .com had become the most popular and commonly used type of top-level domain for businesses, websites, and email.
.net: shorthand for network, .net was created expressly for institutes that partook in network technologies such as an internet service provider or an infrastructure company. Non-profit organization uses .org, while government in general uses .gov.
Country Code Top Level Domains
The country code top-level domains (ccTLD for short). As the name suggests, these are technically tied to different countries.
Interestingly, each country has its own ccTLD. For example in Nigeria, .ng is the country code top level domains. Websites based out of the US can use the ‘.us’ extension, while companies from Japan can use the ‘.jp’ extension.
Generic Top-Level Domains
Generic top-level domains (gTLDs for short). This is more of a definition than an actual type of domain. As the description suggests, it’s just a different variation of a Top Level Domain (TLD).
For example .mil is for primary domain extension for the US military, while .edu is for websites assigned for Universities or Educational system.
A lot of gTLDs can be registered even if you don’t satisfy the requirements, but for some like ‘.mil’ and ‘.edu’ you must fit the requirements.
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Second-Level Domains
Second-level domains are below the top level Domains (TLDs) highlighted above in terms of hierarchy.
This doesn’t mean they’re any less authoritative, or valuable. Rather, the second level domains describes the second piece of the domain name, for example websites with extension .com.ng will normally describe company in Nigeria, while websites ending with .co.uk refers to company located in UK etc.
Third Level Domains
Third level domains are below second-level domains in the domain name hierarchy. They aren’t a full domain name in and of themselves, but merely a portion of a domain name or, if you’re using a subdomain to build an additional section of your site, this would be a third-level domain as well.
For example, learn.lewbdesign.com “learn” is a third level domain.
Now, you know the five types of Domain names.
If you own a website, you can now know which domain name type you are using currently and which you could advise for clients.
Other helpful resources:
Different types domains– Hostigator.com
Domain Name Type– By Domain.com
Share with us more examples of the types of domain name for more enlightenment in the comment.
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