Domains Explained

One of the most important preconditions for building a successful Internet presence is the domain. It is what people will see first when they come across your web page and what they will associate you with. The domain should be easy to memorize, but should also be something that tells your site's visitors what the web page is about.

Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs)

A domain usually has two fragments - a Top-Level Domain Name (TLD) and a Second-Level Domain Name (SLD). If you have domain.com, for example, ".com" is the TLD and "domain" is the SLD. There are several categories of Top-Level Domain Names that you should consider before you pick the domain you want. Your pick should be built upon the aim of your site and on its target audience. Let's review the gTLDs, or generic Top-Level Domain Names - these are the most common Top-Level Domain Names aimed to denote a given function - .com (business organizations), .net (network infrastructures), .biz (businesses), .info (informational web sites), .org (non-profit organizations), .mobi (handheld devices), .asia (the Asia-Pacific region), .name (persons or families), .pro (particular walks of life), etc. As you can see, these TLDs encompass most realms of life, so you should go for the one that would show the objective of your website best. There is no limitation as to who can register such domains, but some of them involve extra procedures to prove that you are eligible to keep such a Top-Level Domain (.mobi and .pro, for instance).

Country-code Top-Level Domains (ccTLDs)

The ccTLDs, or country-code TLDs, are country-specific Top-Level Domains. Each country has its own ccTLD. Picking such a domain is good if your target group of site visitors is from a specific country. Many folks would rather buy commodities or services from a local website, and if your aim is Canada, for instance, selecting a .ca domain could increase the visits to your web page.

Domain Name Redirection

You can register several Top-Level Domain Names, which can send your web site's visitors to a certain web page such as domain.com, for instance. This would boost the traffic and reduce the chance of somebody swiping your web page visitors by registering the same SLD with a different Top-Level Domain - if you are not availing of a trademark.

Name Servers (NSs)

Every Top-Level Domain Name has domain records. The name server records (NS records, aka DNS records) reveal where the domain is hosted, i.e. they point to the web hosting firm whose name servers (NSs, aka DNSs) it is utilizing now. You can alter the NSs of your domain whenever you wish. You can have your domain registered with one provider and get the hosting service itself from another. So, if you register your domain and encounter good website hosting packages someplace else at a later time, you can point your domain to the present provider's NSs instantly.

Domain Server Records (DNS Records)

In general, as long as your domain uses a certain set of name servers, all its DNS records will point to the same web hosting provider. Some web hosting suppliers, though, allow you to edit specific records, like the A records and the MX records of your domain. The A record is an IP address, which indicates on which server your site is situated, whereas the MX records specify which server tackles the email address accounts associated with your domain name. For example, if you appoint a new web designer and he devises an .ASP web site that will be accommodated on his own Windows web hosting server, you may want to modify only the IP address (the A record) but not the MX records of your domain. In this way, www.domain.com will point to the Windows web server, but your mailbox accounts or any sub-domain names such as forum.domain.com or shop.domain.com will still be in your current Linux web hosting account. The .ASP environment is designed by Microsoft and calls for a Windows hosting server, although a Linux web hosting server would be far more reliable.

Inexpensive Domains Distributed by 'Best Business Host'

Only a number of web hosting vendors allow you to edit certain records and very often this an extra paid service. With us, you get a big collection of TLDs to select from and you can modify all DNS records or forward the domains via a forwarding tool at no added cost.