Move Over Dot Com

Written by Holly Janion


If you, like me, wished you had registered some classic dot com domains years ago, now's your opportunity. A new global domain service is now available, so mover over dot.com and make way for dot.ws. What is WS? WS isrepparttar new alternative to dot.com. A dot.com domain has always been popular because it gave your web site a global presence. Nowrepparttar 108317 WS domain name does just that too. It's a World Site! It works just like any other top level domain name. In other words, whatever you can do with your dot.com domain name, you can do with your dot.ws domain name too. Advantages of WS If you have been wanting a global dot.com domain name but have been unable to getrepparttar 108318 one you need, because its still early days forrepparttar 108319 WS domain name, chances are more than likely you will be able to reserve your desired name. Many webmasters have had to settle for country domain names e.g. co.uk or co.za but now registering a WS domain name will give themrepparttar 108320 same global identity as a dot.com. I had great fun onrepparttar 108321 World Site web site last night and registered four domain names. We had been unable to get wadesworld.com and instead have wadesworld-usa.com, wadesworld.co.uk and wadesworld.co.za but we will be able to change all this with our new wadesworld.ws domain name.

Domain Names

Written by Richard Lowe


If you've spent any time at all surfingrepparttar internet, then you've seen a domain name. You may not have known, but you can be sure that you've seen one.

So what are domain names all about? Here are some common questions andrepparttar 108316 answers.

What is this thing called a domain name?

It is a completely unique address which identifies a collection of web pages (generally called a web site) that are publicly accessible. A domain name identifies your site and allows people to get to it without knowingrepparttar 108317 technical details of it's TCP/IP address and so forth. A good domain name also informs people what your site is about.

Is a domain name only for web sites?

No. A domain name also is used for email identification. In addition, other kinds of systems such as newsgroups and FTP servers are often identified by a domain name.

Why is a domain name important?

If you create a web site, you don't absolutely need a domain name. In fact,repparttar 108318 vast majority of people create a web site on a free host. These free hosts typically have many thousands (and in a few cases millions) of web sites onrepparttar 108319 same domain, each site identified by a unique name.

However, if you haverepparttar 108320 desire to do anything significant onrepparttar 108321 internet, then you need to get your own domain name. Why? It's considered more professional, it is not very expensive, and many ofrepparttar 108322 major search engines will not spider free host sites which do not have their own domain name.

What arerepparttar 108323 components of a domain name?

There are two to three parts to a domain name. Let's take a typical domain name - "internet-tips.net". This domain name has two parts. The first, "internet-tips", is a second-level domain name. The second part,repparttar 108324 ".net" is a top-level domain name. You can also have a third (or even more) part, called a subdomain. For example, "search.internet-tips.net" might be a valid subdomain. The whole thing together identifies a web site or sites.

What is a subdomain for?

A subdomain is used to drill down deeper into a site. For example, a web host that allows other people to create sites might offer subdomains. Each subdomain might be a unique site. Subdomains can also be used to identify functions - "search.internet-tips.net" is a good example of a function oriented subdomain.

What arerepparttar 108325 valid top-level domains?

The current major top-level domains are listed inrepparttar 108326 table below.

Domain Usage .COM Commercial business .EDU 4-year university or college .GOV Government .INT International .MIL Military .NATO NATO field .NET Network related organizations .ORG Non-profit organization

There are also top-level domain names for countries - these are defined by ISO-3166. In addition, new top-level domains are inrepparttar 108327 process of being created - these are described in "The new domains are coming soon".

The intended purpose ofrepparttar 108328 top-level domain is to allow surfers to know, just by looking atrepparttar 108329 characters, what kind of site they are examining. For example, a site with a top level domain of ".EDU" is a university or four year college.

Unfortunately, restrictions ofrepparttar 108330 use of top-level domains (especially .ORG) has not been enforced. Thus,repparttar 108331 divisions betweenrepparttar 108332 domain names has blurred.

How do people get domain names?

There are over 200 companies (called Domain Registrars) whose only purpose is to sell you domain names. All you have to do is find one and give them money. They will take care ofrepparttar 108333 rest. How much does it cost to get a domain?

It depends upon where you get your domain name. You can find many places that will register for free in return for some service or product. Some will charge a yearly fee, some will only charge forrepparttar 108334 registration itself. In general, I would not pay more than $35 a year. If you look around, you can get this down to under $10.

What about Network Solutions?

Until recently, you could only purchase domain names from a company called Network Solutions. You can still purchase your domain name directly from them. However, you now haverepparttar 108335 option of using any of several hundred different companies. It is up to you.

How many domain names can a person own?

As many as he wants. You do have to be careful about cybersquatting, which isrepparttar 108336 practice of purchasing a domain only to block someone else or force them to pay you money (it's could be described as domain name extortion).

Can domain names be sold or traded?

Yes, as long asrepparttar 108337 rules for cybersquatting are not violated. There are several companies who specialize inrepparttar 108338 buying, selling and bidding on domain names.

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