Dissecting Domain Names - How To Choose A Domain Name

By Author: Robin James
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Domain names are one of the first things you need to think about when hosting a personal or commercial website. Let's learn some basic things about Domain Names so that domain selection becomes simpler!


What is Domain Name and why is it unique?


The Domain Name is the unique string of characters through which we identify a web space.Let's explain it generically.


When you create files in the hard disk of your PC, you need to assign it a name - a unique name. You cannot create 2 files with same name in a hard disk drive. Now, a website is nothing but a cluster of space saved in web server (www).Hence, all websites should have unique domain names to be spotted distinctively.


Net surfers type the domain name of a website in the address bar of web browsers to visit the website. If two websites have same domain name, how would the web browser understand which website it is meant to download!


As two homes in a city or town cannot have same address, similarly two websites cannot have the same domain name.


Domain ...
... Name Dissection:


As mentioned earlier, the Domain Name is a string of characters consisting of mainly three sections separated by two dots generally. Let's look at a common domain name most of us use everyday:


www.google.co.uk


It has three sections separated by two dots: www, google and co.uk


The part of the domain name followed by the final dot is known as Top Level Domain (TLD) or Top Level Domain Name (TLDN).


The part of the domain name that precedes TLD is known as Second Level Domain (SLD) or Second Level Domain Name (SLDN).


Top Level Domain:


Here is a list of different types of Top Level Domains:


Generic TLD (gTLD): Generic TLD does not represent anything specifically. Examples of gTLD are .com, .info, .biz, .net, .org, .pro etc.


Country Code TLD (ccTLD): These top level domain names represent the country where the target audiences reside. Examples of ccTLD can be .uk (Unite Kingdom), .in (India), .ca (Canada), .au (Australia) etc.


Sponsored TLD (sTLD): A sponsored TLD characterizes the theme, concept or purpose of a website. For example, no one else but a department of Government can get .gov TLD. And .travel TLD is only allowed to individuals and organizations involved with travel and tourism industry. Some more examples of sTLD are: .edu, .jobs, .mil, .museum, .post etc.


So it is clear that www.google.co.uk uses ccTLD .uk and www.google.com uses gTLD .com.


Second Level Domain:


Now, let's focus on another vital part of the domain name, the Second Level Domain (SLD). In the domain name www.google.com, google is the SLD.


In case of website hosting you can choose the SLD as you want. Business names or the name of a flagship product is commonly used as SLD.


In case you choose a generic term as SLD, you have to check whether the domain name is available or not. There are some Domain Availability Checkers and Domain Name Registrars that help find suitable and available domain names. To get the best results, choose an SLD that is easy to remember and difficult to misspell!