What are Domains

One of the most vital prerequisites for running a successful Internet presence is the domain. It is what visitors will note first when they discover your web site and what they will link you with. The domain should be easy to remember, but should also be something that tells your site's visitors what the site is about.

Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs)

A domain usually is composed of two constituents - a Top-Level Domain (TLD) and a Second-Level Domain (SLD). If you have domain.com, for instance, ".com" is the Top-Level Domain Name and "domain" is the Second-Level Domain. There are several groups of TLDs that you should examine before you choose the domain you desire. Your selection should be built upon the intention of your web site and on its target viewers. Let's have a look at the gTLDs, or generic TLDs - these are the most typical Top-Level Domain Names meant to signify a specific purpose - .com (commercial enterprises), .net (networks), .biz (firms), .info (informative resources), .org (not-for-profit organizations), .mobi (handheld devices), .asia (the Asia-Pacific), .name (persons or families), .pro (qualified professionals), etc. As you can perceive, these Top-Level Domains cover most realms of life, so you should settle on the one that would explain the objective of your web page best. There is no limitation as to who can register such domains, but some of them involve additional requirements to show that you are eligible to own such a domain name (.mobi and .pro, for instance).

Country-code Top-Level Domain Names (ccTLDs)

The ccTLDs, or country-code Top-Level Domain Names, are country-specific domain names. Each country has its own ccTLD. Opting for such a domain is good if your target group of site visitors is from a certain country. Many guys would like to buy commodities or services from a local web site, and if your target is Canada, for example, registering a .ca domain could increase the visits to your site.

Domain Name Redirection

You can register different TLDs, which can redirect your web site's visitors to a specific site like domain.com, for example. This would increase the traffic and decrease the possibility of somebody pinching your web page visitors by using the same Second-Level Domain with another Top-Level Domain Name - if you are not utilizing a trademark.

Name Servers (NSs)

Each and every Top-Level Domain has domain records. The name server records (NS records, a.k.a. DNS records) specify where the domain is hosted, i.e. they point to the hosting provider whose name servers (NSs, a.k.a. DNSs) it is utilizing now. You can alter the name servers of your domain name at any time. You can have your domain name registered with one firm and get the website hosting service itself from another. In this way, if you register your domain and come across good website hosting solutions somewhere else at a later time, you can point your domain to the new provider's NSs straight off.

Domain Server Records (NS Records)

In general, as long as your domain name utilizes a particular set of NSs, all its DNS records will direct to the same website hosting distributor. Some website hosting providers, though, enable you to edit specific NS records, such as the A records and the MX records of your domain. The A record is an Internet Protocol address, which indicates on which server your site is hosted, while the MX records reveal which server handles the email aliases associated with your domain name. For example, if you take on a new web designer and he creates an .ASP website that will be located on his personal Windows web server, you may wish to edit only the Internet Protocol address (the A record) but not the MX records of your domain. Thus, www.domain.com will point to the Windows server, but your email box accounts or any sub-domain names like forum.domain.com or shop.domain.com will still be in your current Linux website hosting account. The .ASP platform is devised by Microsoft and demands a Windows hosting server, even though a Linux web server would be far more reliable.

Low-cost TLDs Courtesy of 'Your Personal Server'

Only a number of web hosting vendors permit you to edit particular DNS records and quite often this an additional paid service. With us, you get an immense array of Top-Level Domain Names to select from and you can modify all domain name server records or forward the domains using a redirection tool at no added cost.