Date First Published: 10th January 2022
Topic: Computer Networking
Subtopic: Network Identifiers
Article Type: Computer Terms & Definitions
Difficulty: MediumDifficulty Level: 5/10
A domain name is an address that can be seen in the URL field of the web browser. Domain names have a custom name, usually the name of a business, and an extension at the end of them, such as .com. For example, computerhelp4all.com is the domain name of this website. Domain names work by DNS, also known as the phonebook of the internet, which works by translating the domain name into an IP address, which every domain has. The first domain name that was ever registered was symbolics.com, which was on 15th March 1985.
Nameservers help connect the domain name with the IP address of the website, which stores DNS records. For example, when someone hosts an external domain on a hosting provider, it is necessary for them to change the nameservers in their domain registrar to the ones provided by their hosting provider (e.g. NS01.000WEBHOST.COM, NS02.000WEBHOST.COM).
The main reason why domain names are used is that they are much easier for people to remember. For example, bing.com is simpler for someone to remember than the IP address 204.79.197.200. Without domain names, people would have to memorise the IP addresses of websites, which is very difficult.
Domain ames are not case sensitive. For example, ComputeRhelp4all.com and COMPUTERHELP4ALL.COM would still direct to computerhelp4all.com.
The most common and well-known domain name extension is .com. It is so popular that most obvious and memorable domain names ending in .com are already taken and it is difficult to find a good domain name that ends in .com that is not already registered. As of now, there are over 137 million registered .com domain names. This is not to be confused with the number of websites on the internet. There are a lot more websites than that and it is estimated that around 40% of registered domain names are 'parked', which means that they have no content, only show ads, and might be reserved for the future. Other widely used extensions are .net, and .org. A full list of all valid domain name extensions can be seen here.
A domain can be registered for up to 10 years. It is not possible to register a domain forever. After a domain expires, it must be renewed by the registrant in order for them to keep it. If the registrant of the domain does not renew it, their domain name will expire. Expired domains can be cancelled or replaced with a parking page that shows ads after a certain period of time. In addition, it could eventually be made available for other users to register if the domain remains inactive for an extended span of time. Most domains are registered for 1 or 2 years.
When a domain is registered, registrants are required to provide the domain registrar with their personal information. This personal information is stored in a protocol called WHOIS. By default, the registrant's contact details are publicly available to anyone, greatly increasing the risks of spam, phishing emails, and identity theft. However, it is possible for a registrant to hide their contact details by enabling WHOIS privacy. Some domain registrars offer this for free and others charge an extra fee for privacy.
A domain name can be registered from a domain registrar. Popular domain registrars include GoDaddy, Namecheap, Google Domains, and Namesilo. For more information about which domain registrars are available, see this article.
Domain names that end in .com, .org or .net usually cost £10 a year with more expensive renewal fees. The price of registering a domain varies by the number of years that it is registered for, the registrar, and the TLD.
A domain name transfer is the process of changing the registrar of a domain name. Only the registrant of the domain name can perform a domain name transfer. In order to prevent unauthorised transfers, a domain authorisation code is required to transfer a domain name, which is a string of numbers and letters. Domain names must be at least 60 days old in order for them to be transferred. All the settings of the domain name, such as DNS records are transferred from one registrar to another. This is not the same as moving the email or hosting. No changes can be made to a domain name whilst it is actively in the transfer process.
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