What’s in a Name....What is a Domain?

Whats in a domain name?

In Layman’s terms, a domain name is the address that people use to find you or your company online, the domain name is what you type in the browser’s address bar to go to a specific website.  Our domain name is, http://www.firstfound.co.uk, although in today’s browsers it is not necessary to type the symbols http://.

A domain name is a unique address that can be used on the Internet. It’s what you see in the address bar after the “www.” in your web browser and it’s what comes after the @ sign in an email address.

A domain name consists of a few parts, in ‘firstfound.co.uk’, ‘uk’ represents what is known as the top level domain (TLD). Because UK domains use country code as the top level domain, the second level domain in this example is ‘co’ for company, making ‘firstfound’ the third level domain in our example.

There are also country specific Top Level Domains, such as .fr for France and .de for Germany. When a domain name is used in a web address, ‘www’ is usually put in front of it to indicate that typing that name into your web browser will take you to a website. Domain name hold­ers can set up a website with that address and also use it for email addresses. When you are a domain name holder you get to decide what is in front of the @-sign in the email address.

How does it all work?

Each computer connected to the internet has a unique IP address (“IP” stands for Internet Protocol). The IP address consists of four sets of numbers, for example, 195.234.53.199. To be able to connect to any given computer via the Internet you need to know the IP address, but because numbers are hard to remember domain names are used instead. The domain name system (DNS) then “translates” the domain name you entered into your browser into the correct IP address, exactly the way you might use a friends name to represent their number in your phonebook. This is done automatically and you as a user need not worry about it.

You register your domain name with a registrar. In our above example firstfound.co.uk, Nominet is the registrar for all ‘UK’ top level domains (TLD). Nominet is a non-profit membership organisation that encourages members to participate in .uk policy decision making through a number of discussion groups. Nominet members have access to reduced wholesale prices for domain names.

A top level domain name is registered for one year at a time (.com). A Second level Domain (.co.uk) is registered for two years at a time. Depending on the agreement with your registrar, it may be automatically renewed or it may only be renewed after your registrar has received payment. If you do not act before the expiry date and ensure that your domain is renewed, it will then become available for others to purchase and you will lose ownership.

Once your domain name has been registered, the location of your website and email service are recorded so that they can be found when someone types in your domain name in a web browser or sends an email to that address. Most people who register a domain name will make use of their registrar’s hosting and email services. Often the registrar offers a package where the domain name fee is included. You can change registrar and move your website and email services to a new registrar at any time without having to change your domain name.

This year alone, Toys-R-Us recently purchased toys.com for $5.1 million (Source: Lawdit.co.uk)

According to Guinness World Records and MSNBC, the most expensive domain name sales at the turn of the century are: