What are Domains

One of the most important preconditions for establishing a successful web presence is the domain. It is what people will note first when they come across your web page and what they will identify you with. The domain should be easy to remember, but should also be something that notifies your web page's visitors what the web site is about.

Generic Top-Level Domain Names (gTLDs)

A domain as a rule is composed of 2 constituents - a Top-Level Domain (TLD) and a Second-Level Domain Name (SLD). If you have domain.com, for instance, ".com" is the TLD and "domain" is the Second-Level Domain Name. There are a few groups of TLDs that you should consider before you select the domain you wish. Your pick should be built upon the purpose of your web site and on its target viewers. Let's analyze the gTLDs, or generic Top-Level Domains - these are the most typical Top-Level Domain Names meant to signify a specific intention - .com (commercial organizations), .net (network infrastructures), .biz (companies), .info (informative web sites), .org (not-for-profit organizations), .mobi (handheld devices), .asia (the Asia Pacific), .name (persons or relatives), .pro (certain walks of life), etc. As you can see, these Top-Level Domain Names cover most realms of life, so you should settle on the one that would express the objective of your web site best. There is no restriction as to who can register such domains, but some of them contain additional steps to prove that you qualify to have such a domain name (.mobi and .pro, for example).

Country-code Top-Level Domains (ccTLDs)

The ccTLDs, or country-code Top-Level Domains, are country-specific Top-Level Domains. Each country has its own ccTLD. Registering such a domain is good if your target group of web page visitors is from a given country. Many persons would want to purchase commodities or services from a local web site, and if your goal is Canada, for instance, picking a .ca domain could boost the visits to your website.

URL Forwarding

You can register different TLDs, which can forward your web page's visitors to a specific site like domain.com, for instance. This would boost the traffic and lower the chance of someone pilfering your visitors by using the same name with another Top-Level Domain Name - if you are not availing of a trademark.

Name Servers (NSs)

Each TLD has domain records. The name server records (NS records, also known as DNS records) reveal where the domain is hosted, i.e. they point to the hosting distributor whose name servers (NSs, also known as DNSs) it is using at present. You can modify the DNSs of your domain whenever you like. You can have your domain registered with one firm and get the hosting service itself from another. So, if you register your domain and stumble upon decent website hosting plans somewhere else at a later time, you can point your domain to the present provider's name servers instantly.

Domain Server Records (DNS Records)

On the whole, as long as your domain uses a particular pair of NSs, all its DNS records will direct to the same web hosting firm. Some web hosting providers, though, enable you to modify specific DNS records, including the A records and the MX records of your domain. The A record is an Internet Protocol address, which displays on which hosting server your site is hosted, while the MX records specify which hosting server handles the mail accounts related to your domain name. For instance, if you take on a new web page designer and he sets up an .ASP web site that will be accommodated on his own Windows hosting server, you may desire to modify solely the Internet Protocol address (the A record) but not the MX records of your domain name. So, www.domain.com will point to the Windows web hosting server, but your e-mail accounts or any sub-domains such as forum.domain.com or shop.domain.com will still be in your current Linux web hosting account. The .ASP environment is invented by Microsoft and calls for a Windows server, even though a Linux web hosting server would be way more reliable.

Cut-Price Domain Names Distributed by 'Hosting Nigeria'

Only a number of web hosting providers enable you to modify specific domain name records and quite often this an extra paid service. With us, you get a vast variety of TLDs to select from and you can edit all domain records or forward the domain names through a redirection tool at no additional charge.