Whenever I come up with a new business idea, one of the first things I do is secure its domain name. Yes, it鈥檚 that important. As a result, I have about 14 domains 鈥� and that list keeps growing.
In this post, I鈥檒l answer your burning questions, such as "What is a domain?鈥�, 鈥淗ow does a domain work?鈥�, and 鈥淗ow do I get a domain?鈥� By the end, you鈥檒l be ready to set up your business website.
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Every website has at least one IP address, a string of numbers that identifies the server where the website鈥檚 data is hosted. For example, the IP address for hubspot.com is 172.64.148.142. However, remembering a different IP address for every website you visit would be a pain.
A domain name is connected to a website's IP address so people can more easily remember and search for a website by its domain. Their browser can still find the specific web server that hosts the website via the associated IP address.
I think of my website domain like my home address. My friends don鈥檛 memorize my house鈥檚 GPS coordinates. Instead, when they want to visit me, they just plug my street address into their phones.
The same goes for visiting a website. Instead of memorizing a website鈥檚 IP address, visitors simply type in the domain into their browser.
A domain typically consists of two or three words separated by periods. A simple example of a domain is hubspot.com.
A 鈥渄omain name鈥� is the same thing as a 鈥渄omain,鈥� which is the same thing as an 鈥渋nternet domain鈥� or 鈥渨eb domain.鈥� These terms are used interchangeably.
The maximum length of a domain name, not including its extension (like 鈥�.com鈥�), is 63 characters. The minimum length is one character.
For a quick overview of what a domain name is and what it's made of, check out this video by Elegant Themes.
A domain typically has two parts: the second-level and the top-level.
The second-level domain is the part of your domain that comes before 鈥�.com鈥� or another extension. For instance, hubspot.com鈥檚 second-level domain is 鈥渉ubspot.鈥� When buying a domain, make it short and memorable so it鈥檚 easy for people to find it.
The top-level domain is the extension or the part of your domain that comes after your second-level domain. It indicates the type of entity you are. For example, 探花精选鈥檚 top-level domain is 鈥�.com鈥� since we鈥檙e a commercial entity in the United States.
Most American businesses register their website with 鈥�.com.鈥� In fact, according to data from , the largest TLD in 2023 was .com, with 159.6 million reported domain names in the domain name base.
Other TLDs include 鈥�.edu鈥� for , 鈥�.gov鈥� for government, and 鈥�.org鈥� which is usually for nonprofits.
An example of a domain name is usps.com. This is made up of a second-level domain (鈥渦sps鈥�) and a top-level domain (".com鈥�).
Other examples of popular domain names include:
Check out more in the image below:
These are just a few domain name examples 鈥� there are literally millions more. According to , there were over 359.8 million registered domain names at the end of 2023.
A URL includes your domain, but your domain is just one part of a URL. A URL, also called a web address, typically consists of a protocol, domain name, and path.
For example, the URL of this blog post is /service/what-is-a-domain. It's made up of the following parts:
An internet domain is the type of domain I鈥檓 talking about throughout this article. When I want to look up something on 探花精选鈥檚 website, I type in 鈥渉ubspot.com鈥� instead of a bunch of numbers because I know 探花精选鈥檚 internet domain.
The (DNS) translates internet domain names to IP addresses so browsers can locate web pages.
A network domain is something entirely different. It describes a group of interconnected devices like desktops, printers, and servers sharing the same purpose.
An administrator is usually in charge of managing the devices within this network. Users in a network domain can communicate with each other but often have different access levels depending on their role.
Domains are used to simplify how visitors find your website, but they do so much more than that. Below, I鈥檒l look at several other reasons domains are used.
Registering a domain is like reserving internet real estate. No one else can claim it while you have it registered.
A domain name establishes a consistent online brand identity. For example, a visitor moving from my website鈥檚 homepage to my blog to my knowledge base will notice that the core domain name remains consistent.
This reinforces other consistent elements, like the color scheme and typography.
A domain name that aligns with your company name makes your website appear more legitimate and professional to users. That builds trust with visitors so they feel comfortable taking action, like submitting a survey or form on a web page with that same domain name.
For example, if you want to create a free business website, you could use WordPress.com and choose the free subdomain mycompanyname.wordpress.com. However, to exude a more professional image, you could buy a custom domain name mycompanyname.com.
Pro tip: You can build a website (no coding skills required) using Content Hub and for no extra charge.
Make your domain memorable so that it鈥檚 easy for visitors to quickly enter it into their search bars 鈥� resulting in more direct traffic to your site.
For example, T-Bones Great American Eatery has a short and sweet domain name: t-bones.com. This web domain is much easier to remember than an alternative like t-bonesgreatamericaneatery.com.
A simple but catchy domain name distinguishes your site from competing sites with clunkier or confusing domains. For example, if Google had kept its original name of , it might not have competed as well with Yahoo and other search engines.
As a rule of thumb, the older a domain is, the more authority it has, which . That鈥檚 because it鈥檚 had time to accumulate quality content, internal links, and backlinks. All the more reason to register a domain name sooner rather than later!
To better understand possible domain names, let's look at the different types of domains below.
gTLD refers to the best-known and most broadly used TLDs:
Today, 鈥�.com鈥� is the most popular by far. As of December 2023, used a .com top-level domain. The next most popular 鈥� 鈥�.ru鈥� 鈥� is used by only 5%.
These two-letter TLDs refer to specific geographical locations. Here are the most common ones:
These are domains that can be displayed in non-Latin character sets (e.g., Chinese).
A subdomain is part of a larger domain, appearing before the root domain name (e.g., blog.hubspot.com). Since a subdomain appears to the left of the SLD, it is also referred to as a third-level domain (3LD).
Pro tip: With Content Hub, you can . This allows you to connect your new domain to hosting, CDN, and security features all at one time.
Several organizations are involved in managing domain names. At the top of the hierarchy are organizations like the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) and Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
These bodies manage policies around domain name registrations, accredit domain name registries, and oversee the DNS. They typically do not interact directly with the public.
Domain name registrars are companies people are more familiar with. Examples include GoDaddy, Namecheap, and Domain.com. These registrars allow you to register available domains for a fee.
For years, I used Google Domains because it was relatively cheap ($12 per 鈥�.com鈥� domain), included domain privacy for free, and was already a part of the Google suite of tools I use in my business.
But in 2023, it was , and since then, I鈥檝e found the user experience to be pretty disjointed and confusing. And while Squarespace also offers free domain privacy, its domains cost more ($20 per 鈥�.com鈥� domain) than what Google Domains had been charging.
Now, I use Namecheap to register my domains. It鈥檚 affordable ($11.28 per 鈥�.com鈥� domain) and includes domain privacy for no extra charge.
To use a custom domain name, you need to buy and register one. From there, you can associate that domain with your server and hosting provider, making your site accessible via the web address.
One easy way to do this is to with 探花精选. It鈥檚 free. I鈥檒l walk you through how to do it:
探花精选 isn鈥檛 a domain registrar, but it does provide web hosting and a drag-and-drop website builder鈥攕o anyone can have a professional website.
You can purchase a custom domain by clicking 鈥淏uy a domain鈥� in your free 探花精选 account. This part is powered by GoDaddy.
Type in your desired domain. If it鈥檚 already taken, GoDaddy conveniently recommends some alternatives.
Having your domain registrar separate from your web host is actually a good thing. Whenever I built blogs, the freelance developer I worked with always recommended not putting all my eggs in one basket. That way, if something goes wrong with one provider, it doesn鈥檛 ruin your whole online presence.
Updating your DNS records is not as scary as it sounds. I鈥檝e done it many times before, and I鈥檓 not a developer.
Your DNS records are with your domain registrar. So, wherever you bought your domain (e.g., GoDaddy), log into that account and find the DNS records. 探花精选 has on how to do this.
After you鈥檝e followed the steps in 探花精选鈥檚 documentation, sit back and relax! It could take for the records to propagate. If there are any errors, the 探花精选 dashboard will let you know.
By now, I hope you realize why I鈥檓 so quick to register domain names for my business ideas. They鈥檙e the online address prospective customers use to visit your website.
So be sure to register and to your website so you never miss out on new online business opportunities.
Editor's note: This post was originally published in February 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.