Domain Names Explained

One of the most vital requirements for setting up a successful web presence is the domain. It is what visitors will see first when they visit your web page and what they will identify you with. The domain should be easy to memorize, but should also be something that informs your web page's visitors what the web site is about.

Generic Top-Level Domain Names (gTLDs)

A domain typically has two parts - a Top-Level Domain (TLD) and a Second-Level Domain Name (SLD). If you have domain.com, for instance, ".com" is the Top-Level Domain Name and "domain" is the SLD. There are a couple of sets of Top-Level Domain Names that you should consider prior to choosing the domain you wish. Your selection should rest on the goal of your web site and on its target spectators. Let's have a glimpse at the gTLDs, or generic TLDs - these are the most common TLDs meant to signify a particular purpose - .com (commercial organizations), .net (networks), .biz (businesses), .info (informative web sites), .org (organizations), .mobi (handheld devices), .asia (the Asia-Pacific region), .name (individuals or families), .pro (qualified professionals), and so on. As you can perceive, these TLDs cover most spheres of life, so you should go for the one that would indicate the purpose of your web site best. There is no restriction as to who can register such domains, but some of them contain additional procedures to confirm that you qualify to have such a TLD (.mobi and .pro, for instance).

Country-code Top-Level Domains (ccTLDs)

The ccTLDs, or country-code Top-Level Domains, are country-specific Top-Level Domain Names. Each country has its own ccTLD. Registering such a domain is good if your target group of website visitors is from a given country. Many persons would elect to purchase commodities or services from a local website, and if your aim is Canada, for example, selecting a .ca domain could boost the visits to your web site.

Domain Name Redirects

You can register several TLDs, which can redirect your visitors to a certain web site such as domain.com, for example. This would raise the traffic and lower the risk of somebody pilfering your site visitors by registering the same Second-Level Domain with a different Top-Level Domain Name - if you are not using a trademark.

Name Servers (NSs)

Every domain name has domain records. The name server records (NS records, a.k.a. DNS records) demonstrate where the domain is hosted, i.e. they point to the hosting provider whose name servers (NSs, aka DNSs) it is using now. You can substitute the NSs of your domain at any time. You can have your domain registered with one company and get the web hosting service itself from another. Hence, if you register your domain name and come across decent website hosting solutions someplace else afterwards, you can point your domain to the current company's DNSs right away.

Domain Server Records (NS Records)

In general, as long as your domain name uses a particular set of name servers, all its domain name records will direct to the same website hosting provider. Some website hosting firms, however, allow you to modify specific DNS records, among them the A records and the MX records of your domain. The A record is an IP address, which designates on which hosting server your web page is located, while the MX records designate which web hosting server handles the email accounts related to your domain name. For example, if you appoint a new website designer and he build an .ASP web site that will be located on his own Windows server, you may want to modify only the IP address (the A record) but not the MX records of your domain name. In this way, www.domain.com will direct to the Windows server, but your mail address accounts or any sub-domain names such as forum.domain.com or shop.domain.com will still be in your current Linux web hosting account. The .ASP environment is developed by Microsoft and calls for a Windows server, even though a Linux hosting server would be way more secure.

Cheap Domain Names Supplied by 'JualanHost'

Just a few web hosting suppliers enable you to edit specific records and quite often this an extra paid service. With us, you get a vast assortment of TLDs to pick from and you can edit all domain records or forward the domain names using a redirection tool at no additional charge.