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Understand Domain Names

A domain name is the unique directional address in the URL customers type into their browser (or click on) to find you. Each domain name has two main parts, the top level and the second level. Here's how they look together:

http://www.secondlevel.toplevel

Domain names are part of the Internet's domain name system (DNS) which allows "user-friendly" names to replace the more difficult numerical Internet protocol (IP) addresses, such as "208.201.239.35," that computers actually use to direct information to other computers.

Each domain name must be registered with an official Internet standards body. For example, in the United States, InterNIC keeps a registry of the domain names. Another standards body (in the United States it's Internet Assigned Numbers Authority [IANA]) keeps a database of the IP addresses. (For more history of domain names, see Will the Domain Name Game Remain the Same?

Top-Level Domain Names

The original intent of the top-level domain was to help define the type of enterprise named in the second level. Three top-level domain names ? .com, .net, .org ? were designated as unrestricted, which allowed anyone to apply for a name using that top-level domain suffix. Use of the remaining five top-level names was restricted to specific situations.

Unrestricted top-level domain names

The explosion of the Internet, the resulting scarcity of names, and marketing strategies have stripped the three unrestricted top-level domains of the distinctions they were originally to possess. Even restricted top-level domains are changing to accommodate the increased demand. This pressure for names has led to discussions of new top-level domains, but the Internet's overseeing standards body ? The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) ? has not yet released a formal list.

Here's a list of the original three top-level domain names:

• .com, an unrestricted domain designed for companies or commercial enterprises.
• .net, an unrestricted domain intended for network providers and their computers.
• .org, an unrestricted miscellaneous category for organizations that didn't fit anywhere else, mostly used by not-for-profit organizations.

Restricted top-level domain names

Even though the Internet is a worldwide network, some of the restricted domain names (e.g., .mil) were reserved for specific U.S. use. These special U.S. names date back to the origins of the Internet as a U.S. military project sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

Here's the original list of top-level domains:

• .int, a restricted domain name for international databases and organizations established by international treaties.
• .gov, a restricted domain name intended for any kind of government agency or office but which is now only for U.S. federal government agencies. State and local agencies are being registered under the country domain of .us (see "International naming conventions," below).
• .mil, a restricted domain name for use only by the U.S. military.
• .edu, a restricted domain name originally intended for all educational institutions but now limited to four-year colleges and universities.

International naming conventions

In addition to the seven listed above, there is one further category of domain names: country codes. These codes distinctly identify the nation in which the domain name was registered.

Some country code top-level domains, or ccTLDs, have certain criteria for persons or entities that wish to register, such as a residence requirement. Others have no restrictions. For instance, the .tv top-level domain name belongs to the island nation of Tuvalu and is a ccTLD; there are no residence requirements for this top-level domain name, and a name can be registered at the .TV site using a credit card.

Here's a list of the country codes currently in use:

Second-Level Domain Names

Second-level domain names are almost completely unrestricted. That's why they're so important in marketing your site. Here are the only three rules you must follow when naming your site:

• All characters must be alphanumeric, meaning letters and numbers, with the exception of a hyphen ("-").
• The hyphen cannot be used at the beginning or the end of the domain name.
• The second-level domain name has a maximum character length of 63.