Domain - what is it?
Even though we use the Internet on a daily basis, the basic concepts associated with the web can be completely unclear to us. First and foremost, it is worth highlighting the domain here. We use it on a daily basis, even though a relatively small percentage of people will be able to define what it is. In this article, we will try to provide an answer to this nagging question.
What is a domain?
What is a domain? It is a user-friendly address that enables resources to be found on the web. Each Internet domain is unique and consists of a name and an extension. It is also worth noting that Internet domains are also linked to the DNS (Domain Name System), whose task is to translate the domain name into a specific IP address that network devices can understand. This makes it possible to locate a specific address on the hosting.
An Internet domain is made up of two basic elements
- domain name
- extension (.co.uk .com .edu)
When a protocol is also added to the domain (e.g. https://, then the full URL will be obtained. It is worth mentioning that sub-domains can also appear in the address (e.g. www.blog.edu.com).
As is well known, domain names can be varied, as their construction can include letters, numbers, and hyphens that separate the words in the site name. In a domain, the letters are not case-sensitive.
Domain types
Domains themselves do not have types; only extensions have their variants, which depend primarily on the nature of the site:
- country code top-level domain (ccTLDs): .uk, .ru, . fr, .eng
- generic top-level domains (gTLDs): .edu, .org, .net, .biz
- second-level domain (SLD): police.uk, .rct.uk, .royal.uk
- top-level domain (TLD): .com, .org, .info, .eu
What is hosting and domain
Many people unfamiliar with the workings of the Internet very often confuse hosting with a domain name. Remember also that the terms hosting and server are often used interchangeably because of their direct relationship. A server, from a technical point of view, is a device that is designed to provide a certain amount of resources (capacity, power, memory, system, etc.) In a server, hosting services are separated, and these, generally speaking, are ready-made proposals for the end customer.
Hosting is defined as the 'place' where we store our files so that they are available on the web to other users. We can link a domain to a server if we want to display specific content at the domain address.
The contents of the server are the files that will be able to be displayed when the domain address is typed into the browser. These files will most often be the website itself, as it consists of a lot of data that needs to be stored in a specific location in order to be transmitted to other web users.
How to set up a website?
Contrary to what you might think, setting up a website these days is very easy. All we need is a CMS tool, the best example of which is WordPress. There, without too much trouble, we will be able to design our website in such a way that it meets all our expectations. In the WordPress settings, we can accurately personalise every aspect of the site, only our imagination can limit us!
Once we have finalised our project, we must next decide on hosting services. If we choose an offer, the next step is to determine the domain address. We can decide on any combination that has not been used before. If we have finalised all the steps, all that is left is to place all the system files on the server memory. From now on, the website is visible to all Internet users!