What is a Domain Name or a Website Name?
Your website communicates with other computers and the internet by using its network adapter or NIC (Network Interface Card) that is within the server. This card and thereby the server uses a unique address known as an IP address. An IPv4 ip address is a address annotated as four numbers segmented by dots. Each segment or octet can have a value between zero and 255, so your dedicated server or business computer address format would look similar to this: 172.16.65.17 On a Windows Server you can determine what the server ip address is by selecting the start button then selecting run. Type in ipconfig and click “OK”, a black command prompt should appear in which you can type ipconfig. On a Linux Server you can open a terminal window and type ifconfig. You can use the same command on your home Windows or Linux system to determine your static dedicated ip address.
When you browse for websites on the internet your browser communicates with web servers via their IP address. Methods have been devised to assign human readable names or hostnames to ip addresses. On a local windows or linux computer this translation can be accommodated in what’s called a host file. On most windows systems the hosts file is located in c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\ directory; on Linux or Unix servers the hosts file is commonly stored in the /etc directory.
Have you ever been to 1313 S Harbor Blvd in Anaheim California? Do you know what is at that address? If I had said “Have you ever been to Disney Land?” chances are that you would have immediately known what I was talking about. 131 S Harbor Blvd, Anaheim, California 92802 is the equivalent of an IP address, and Disney Land is the equivalent of a hostname. Website hosting is the equivalent of the land where Disney Land sits. So if you register a website address and get the name, you must also rent or purchase internet real estate or server space for your website to reside on. Likewise if you obtain website hosting but don’t register a website address, no one will know how to get to your website.
Hostfiles are typically used to translate names for a small number of computers. A hostfile contains lines that look like this: 192.168.20.34 www.npsis.com . This tells your computer to look for www.npsis.com using the address 192.168.20.34 whenever you try to access http://www.npsis.com using your web browser.
Internet Service Providers typically use DNS (Domain Name System) to translate hostnames to IP addresses on the internet. When you type www.npsis.com or your own website address, your computer contacts a DNS server to determine what IP address is assigned to the domain name or website address that you entered. All websites, web servers and email servers need domain names if they are to be accessible online.
It is important when selecting your website address that you pick a name that is easy to remember. The domain name should also reflect what your business does. For example the website address tomsgarage.com gives you a pretty good idea of what tom does for a living and its very easy to remember. You can also reserve multiple related domain names and point them at your website address as well. Have your website design store help you to incorporate several relevant key words into your website design and point all of your relevant website addressees at your website (i.e. wefixtires.com, bestlocaltireshop.com, toms-tires.com).
Website domain names are reserved on a first come, first serve basis. So if you have an idea for the perfect website address, you should reserve it before you’re your good idea is taken by somebody else. There are many companies and individuals who potentially popular domain names and resell them for a profit.
Have you hired a web design store or individual web design consultant? Make absolutely sure that you own your website address and not them. By purchasing your domain name yourself, you protect yourself from negligent people and predators looking to take advantage of the fact that you might not know better.
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