A domain name is a website URL, is the
address, is your website name where Internet users can find and visit
your website. Computers use IP addresses, which are a series of number.
However, it is difficult for people to remember.
Because of this, domain names were developed and used to identify
entities on the Internet rather than using IP addresses.
A domain
name can be any combination of letters and numbers, and it can be used
in combination of the various extensions, such as .com, .net and more.
The
domain name must be registered before you can use it. Every domain name
is unique. If someone types in www.yourdomain.com, it will and only go
to your website.
Domain names are formed by the rules and
procedures of the Domain Name System (DNS). Any name registered in the
DNS is a domain name.
"Domain names are organized in subordinate
levels (subdomains) of the DNS root domain, which is nameless. The
first-level set of domain names are the top-level domains (TLDs),
including the generic top-level domains (gTLDs), such as the prominent
domains: com, info, net, edu, and org, and the country code top-level
domains (ccTLDs). Below these top-level domains in the DNS hierarchy are
the second-level and third-level domain names that are typically open
for reservation by end-users." - Wiki
The top-level domains (TLDs) such as com, net
and org are the highest level. Top-level domains form the DNS root zone
of the hierarchical Domain Name System. Every domain name ends with a
top-level domain label.
Below the top-level domains in the
domain name hierarchy are the second-level domain (SLD) names. These are
the names directly to the left of .com, .net, and the other top-level
domains. As an example, in the domain sample.co.us, co is the
second-level domain.
Next are third-level domains, which are
written immediately to the left of a second-level domain. There can be
fourth- and fifth-level domains, and so on, with virtually no
limitation. Each label is separated by a full stop (dot).