What is a Domain Name?
By: Chris Cook on March 22nd, 2010
Domain names are used to create a simpler method of contacting websites. An example of a domain name is 431media.com. However; domain names don't have to end with .com, they can end with a multitude of "suffixes" such as .net, .org, .tv, .us, .co.uk, etc.
What is a URL?
The term URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator. You may be more familiar with calling this a "web address". So what is the difference between a URL and a domain name? A URL is used to point directly to a particular resource. An example would be if I wanted to send someone a "link" to this exact page, I would send http://www.431media.com/articles/domain.html. As you can see, the URL points to a very specific resource while a domain name is actually just the name of the website.
Domain names are used to create a simpler method of contacting websites.
What is the Difference between a Top Level and a Second Level Domain Name?
While the two terms may seem high-tech, in all reality they are quite simple to discern from one and other. A top level domain simply has only one suffix such as .com, .net, or .org. A second level domain has more than one suffix such as .co.uk, or .com.au. The only real difference to note is that top level domains originated before second level domains.
What is a Sub-Domain?
Sub-domains can be useful on your website if you wish to split your website up into separate areas. Using sub-domains to partition off blogs, and multimedia areas of a website has become a common practice. An example of a sub-domain would be blog.431media.com, or videos.431media.com. This method has become popular because it looks cleaner than a URL such as www.431media.com/blog/index.html.
Hopefully this basic set of information about domain names has been helpful for you. In the next article I will show you how to register a domain name. As always, if you have any questions or comments about this content, please feel free to contact us!
