Each Internet site needs to possess a unique name to distinguish it from other websites on the World Wide Web, and for this, the concept of the domain name has been developed. But what is a domain name, and how do people use it?
A domain name of a website gives the site its own identity. People type domain names into their web browsers to enable them to visit the sites they are interested in. A domain name can also be referred to as a URL (Uniform Resource Locator).
Aside from providing a name for a website, domain names determine how the online community will visualize an individual or a business. Domain names play a major part in the popularity of a person or in the marketing plan of companies. Simply put, domain names help site owners establish themselves on the Net.
Domain names have two major components. To further understand each one, here is an example of a URL or domain name: www.business.com. The first component is "business", which is the distinct portion of the domain name. This component represents the company or person that owns the site, and it establishes the identity of the individual or group to which the website belongs. Normally, companies would choose their own name or a distinct product or service which they offer as the first component of their domain names. On the other hand, a person chooses a name based on his real name, his moniker, or any word that is closely associated to him. The second component is known as the extension, which is ".com" in the given example. Other well-known extensions are ".org" and ".net".
