What Is A Domain Name And What Does It Do?
A domain name is basically an electronic address for computers. The internet has made it possible for the whole world to connect together by using our computers. Modern science has made it possible for the average person to now own a very powerful computer for their personal use. Many people have computers today and use them regularly. The internet is a highway system for computers to electronically travel on and domain names are the electronic destinations they go to.
There are hundreds of millions of people using the internet now and millions of people and organizations with websites on the internet. The internet is used for educational, personal and business purposes. Virtually all successful companies have Websites now, and even small and emerging companies are increasingly seeing the value a website can have to promote and grow their business. Individuals alike are embracing the internet to pay bills, promote personal causes, share beliefs, showcase literary and artistic works, socialize with friends, meet new people and many other purposes. There is no doubt about it, the internet is here to stay and will continue to grow very rapidly all over the world. Printed materials are quickly becoming obsolete. As raw natural materials become more scarce, and as labor, postage and shipment costs continue to increase, it is apparent that the internet will eventually dominate these areas and make the world a connected global community. It is very likely that there will ultimately be a total convergence of communication, commerce, entertainment and news dissemination through the internet in the future.
All the websites on the internet have addresses. A website address can be compared to a physical addresses. In order to send something in the mail you need the exact street number and correct street name. Just like a mailing address, every place on the internet has an address that has 2 essential parts. Here is an example of a very popular website that we will use as an example:
This example happens to be a ".COM" web address but there are also many other domain extensions to choose from. Some of the extensions are restricted (meaning that a person or group using a domain name with the restricted extension for their website must be located in a particular country (as for .us names), or must be a government entity (as for .gov names), or must be an educational organization (as for .edu names), etc.) but many are for unrestricted general public use. Here is a list of some of the current extensions being used:
com, net, org, info, ws, us, co, mobi, biz, pro, me, tv, asia, bz, mx, qs, tc and many more. The list is growing all the time and even now is well over 100. New domain extensions are being proposed all the time and as internet usage progresses it is probable that someday the average person may be able to choose their own custom domain extension. For now however, we are limited to the domain extensions as they are established by the large internet registry companies that sponsor them. Many good .COM names are gone, taken long ago in fact, but there are still many good names available by through the many other extensions that we can choose from. When most people try to think of a good domain name, they instantly go for the highly acclaimed .COM version, but the fact is that there are lots of other good extensions available that should not be quickly overlooked. As .COM names become harder to find, there is ever increasing popularity for .NET, .ORG, .INFO and even .US names.
Oftentimes there is a third part to the name which comes at the very end after the domain extension which further identifies a particular page, area, file or section on the website. Usually we refer to this part of the address as the "file name". If we typed in www.youtube.com for example we would simply go to the youtube "main" page (also called the index page, landing page or default page). From that main page we can find many other pages and links on their website that are specified by additional text after the domain extension on the name. For example: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OBlgSz8sSM is the full address to view one of the most popular videos on their website with hundreds of millions of views. Each page, video, or file on a website has it's own file name and there are virtually an unlimited number of pages that could be on a website associated with the same domain name. Here is another page at www.youtube.com/t/about_youtube, where we find a descriptive page that tells all "about" Youtube. Here is still another page at www.youtube.com/t/contact_us where we find "contact information" for Youtube. There are tens of thousands of pages on the Youtube website and each one is accessed by using the special information (file name) added at the end of the extension on the domain name. When a new web page is made on Youtube or any other website it is assigned a file name which must be used to reach the page. On websites like Youtube and Facebook the server automatically assigns the file name, however if you are building your own website with your own domain name you can choose the names of all your pages.
In order to have a website and webpages there must always be a domain name registered for it first. Some websites allow you to use their domain name to post your own material (usually with a lot of rules you must follow), such as Facebook, Craigslist or your favorite blog posting site. You can post your information and people access it by going through the domain name of the site you posted on. If you wanted to offer something for sale on Craigslist for example, you would post the information and the listing address would be www.craigslist.org/xxxxxx (the x's represent the file name that Craigslist gives you when you place the listing on their website). Millions of people use the Craigslist website to post their information, but they are all at the mercy and under the control of the people who own the Cragslist domain name. If the people at Craigslist don't like the information you put on their website they can remove you at any time and for any reason. The people that own the registration of a domain name have the exclusive right to control the use of the name and the content of the website that goes with it.
If you want to have your own website exclusively for yourself and exclusively controlled by you, then you will need your own domain name, as well as hosting.
How Do I Get My Own Domain Name?
Actually it is very easy. The video below shows just how fast and simple it can be to find and register a new domain name. The whole process can be done in about 5 minutes. To obtain a domain name you must "register" the name through a Domain Registrar . There are hundreds of companies that can offer this service and they each set their own prices, which vary widely. The regular price for basic new domain registration for .COM, .NET or .ORG costs anywhere from $10-$50 usually (depending on the registrar and the extension chosen) and a name can be registered for 1 year or multiple years. The minimum registration term is 1 year. The name must be renewed before the expiration or you will lose the name. There is a brief grace period for late renewals but it carries a hefty penalty fee. During the registration process you simply type in your name, mailing address, phone number and other ownership information. This ownership information is available to the public to see upon request(known as "WHOIS") however you can pay extra money to have a private registration where your information is shielded from public view. Pay attention during the registration process and you will be presented with this option.
Once a domain name is registered then the new owner can choose how to use it. Basically, as we said above, a domain registration gives the owner the right to control the use of the domain name. Some people register names and then do nothing at all with them. Actually this is what happens to most domain names that are registered. You have probably noticed many such domains (they are not active and display an error or generic page when you type in their address into your browser) but recently many owners that have inactive domains are using "parking pages" and affiliate marketing pages to make money from the web traffic that visits their domain names looking for a website. You can buy your own name and park it until needed later. There are several reasons why people register inactive domain names but never actually use them. These reasons include:
There is no requirement that you actually use your domain name and most domains that are registered never get effectively used. A large percentage of inactive registrations are for the latter reason, speculation to sell for a profit to any buyer who makes the right offer. This brings us to the last point about buying domain names.
How Do I Buy A Name That Somebody Else Already Owns?
Oftentimes people buy a domain names for the purpose of reselling them for a profit. Most of the names that are currently registered are either unused or resale domains. The majority are not really registered for actual website development. One of the things that makes a name valuable is when the domain name is an exact match to a popular keyword term. For example widgetbrokers.com is an exact match for the term "widget brokers" which makes the name particularity valuable to people that broker widgets. If somebody bought the domain name widgetbrokers.com knowing this fact, they could place it for sale, hoping a widget broker will buy it for their business. A domain investor can charge any price you want to sell their domains (NOTE: DO NOT register domains that infringe on a registered trademark or trade name / NEVER NEVER NEVER register a name of another business entity or trademark holder and try to sell the name back to them, this can get you into BIG legal trouble!). The price must only be reasonable when compared to the demand for the name. If lots of companies would want a name, then the price can be higher. In our example there may only be a few widget brokers, and so the demand would be low, thus we can expect the price to be low as well. If you are looking for a domain name and all the good extensions are taken then you may be forced to buy a domain from a reseller, especially if you want a .COM, .NET, .ORG or .INFO name. These main four extensions are the most popular and are always the first names to be registered and are always the best names that resellers buy.
Other Domain Purchasing Ideas
Sometimes when you are looking for a domain name you will find one that is already registered by somebody else but their registration is about to expire. If they do not renew the name the registration lapses and the name may become available for somebody else to register after a while, usually about 75 days after the expiration date. If you really want the domain you can place a back order for it. A "back order" is basically a way of gaining a better chance of getting the name as soon as it becomes available. A domain on back order is constantly monitored and the moment the system detects availability it secures the name for you. Sometimes people have premium domain names that they want to sell and they offer them on auction. This is a good way to score premium names for a low price. Another great feature for domain investors to consider is that there is a discount available for bulk domain purchases. This helps to reduce domain investment costs and to increase profitability.