Site TypesDomain Name
It's important to have a basic understanding of how the domain name system works. We will explain a fairly complex system in the simplest terms.
Domain names are not owned by any individual or company but rather are leased for a period of time through a "Registrar". You may purchase a domain for a minimum of one year or up to a maximum of ten years. You have the option of renewing at any time before your lease expires. Your domain is yours as long as you keep your account in good standing, so keep on top of all emails. Once a domain expires it can be a hassle to secure it back.
Some things to consider when selecting a domain name:
A registrar can be a separate company from your hosting company, but in most cases are the same company. We recommend having your registrar and hosting company combined to keeps things simple. If you have separate companies, keep in mind that domains can be transferred from one to another.
Be aware, the information you register with is public record, unless you make it private (the registrar usually provides privacy for a fee). Information displayed is: owner name, address, date of domain purchase, date of expiration. When domain is made private it usually only display the information of the registrar.
While keeping correspondence with your registrar in an email can be convenient, we recommend printing any and all communications between yourself and the registrar at least until completion of the registration. You never know when that hard drive has spun up dor the last time.
There are several pieces of information stored in a DNS entry. The address of the computer where your domain is hosted or Name Servers. Usually there are two entries for this, the primary and the secondary. ex. ns1.hostingcomp.com and ns2.hostingcomp.com DNS also tell the world wide web how to direct your email through and "MX Entry".
Domain Name | Registrar | Domain Name System | Evedrything Simplified
Domain Names
A domain name is a meaningful and easy-to-remember "handle" for an Internet address. Without domain names, we would have to remember ip address of every site would like to visit. For example if you wanted to visit www.wikipedia.org you would have to enter "208.80.152.2" in the address bar of your browser.Domain names are not owned by any individual or company but rather are leased for a period of time through a "Registrar". You may purchase a domain for a minimum of one year or up to a maximum of ten years. You have the option of renewing at any time before your lease expires. Your domain is yours as long as you keep your account in good standing, so keep on top of all emails. Once a domain expires it can be a hassle to secure it back.
Some things to consider when selecting a domain name:
- A clever or descriptive representation of your company
- The length of your domain name. Remember your email will usually be attached, it may become cumbersom to type it all the time. In addition the longer the domain name, the higher the probability for error when your customers send you an email.
Registrar
A domain name registrar is a company, accredited by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) or by a national ccTLD authority, to register Internet domain names. An individual cannot directly make or change entries into the ICANN registry, all requests are handles through registrars. In essence they are the middle men you deal directly with.A registrar can be a separate company from your hosting company, but in most cases are the same company. We recommend having your registrar and hosting company combined to keeps things simple. If you have separate companies, keep in mind that domains can be transferred from one to another.
Be aware, the information you register with is public record, unless you make it private (the registrar usually provides privacy for a fee). Information displayed is: owner name, address, date of domain purchase, date of expiration. When domain is made private it usually only display the information of the registrar.
While keeping correspondence with your registrar in an email can be convenient, we recommend printing any and all communications between yourself and the registrar at least until completion of the registration. You never know when that hard drive has spun up dor the last time.
Domain Name System
All this comes together to make a Domain Name System or DNS. DNS is the way that Internet domain names are located and translated into Internet Protocol addresses. The DNS system is, in fact, its own network. If one DNS server doesn't know how to translate a particular domain name, it asks another one, and so on, until the correct IP address is returned.There are several pieces of information stored in a DNS entry. The address of the computer where your domain is hosted or Name Servers. Usually there are two entries for this, the primary and the secondary. ex. ns1.hostingcomp.com and ns2.hostingcomp.com DNS also tell the world wide web how to direct your email through and "MX Entry".
Everything Simplified
The best way to simplify this is to compare it with the US Postal Service. For our example, your home address will be the domain name, your local post office will be our registrar and the entire mail service as the internet. If someone sends you a letter from california to your home in Texas, they drop it off at their local post office. The post office first sorts the mail by zip code, then directs it to the proper post office. Your local post office then directs it to your door.