What is a domain name? (And why do you need one?) - Domain explained

I recently wrote a post breaking down what is the internet. I got some feedback from my tech friends who said you missed domains!

It was like I forgot a critical piece to the puzzle, but I didn't forget. I needed to make a new post just to make sure we cover domains.

When I think of domains, I think about every time I tried getting a new URL setup and would struggle with the dashboard, encrypting and securing my domain.

I started off with GoDaddy because of the Danica Patrick commercials. 😅

Those commercials were coming out in 2007. I was a nerdy teenager at the time who thought it was cool to own a website but no one made it easy like GoDaddy did at the time. The marketing campaigned worked because I was on GoDaddy for multiple reasons as a young teen.

I wanted to get a website up, I also wanted to see what was not shown during the super commercial 😏

Then I found Google was launching Google Domains. I saw the program was in beta so I decided to sign up and stuck with them for years. Now Google Domains is launched and my favorite place to purchase domains.

Like anything else, the first few times using the tool I struggled. Then over time you cover most edge cases and gain expertise.

Domains Explained

The actual address of a website is a complex numerical IP address (e.g. 103.21.244.0), but thanks to domain name servers(DNS) users are able to enter human-friendly domain names and be routed to the websites they are looking for.

This process is known as a DNS lookup.

When you type in your web browser address bar “TechDad.pro” it is just like reaching out to shake hands!

We appreciate when you doing that.

Understanding how domain names work can be very useful information for anyone who wants access the world wide web, since there are many websites available worldwide that require an internet connection and also use these unique strings as identifiers on their pages — such as e-commerce sites selling products or services.

Who manages domain names?

Domain names are all managed by domain registries, which delegate the reservation of domain names to registrars. Anyone who wants to create a website can register a domain name with a registrar, and there are currently over 300 million registered domain names. My favorite registrars are:

• Google Domains
• Namecheap
• GoDaddy
• SiteGround

I wouldn't put Bluehost or HostGator on here.

Those two don't do anything wrong but I don't remember having a good experience with those platforms around 2013/14. It might be much better in 2022 but I honestly go to those top four for anything web site, landing page, blog or web app related.

What’s the difference between a domain name and a URL?

URLs are the foundation of hyperlinks, and without them there would be no way to link between pages on a website. They contain not only domain names but also other information like transfer protocols which help determine how data is delivered when requested by visitors from one location or another in an internet browser window.

A uniform resource locator (URL), sometimes called a web address, contains the domain name of a site as well as other information, including the transfer protocol and the path.

For example

1. You visit https://TechDad.pro/contact-us
2. ‘TechDad.pro’ is the domain name
3. While 'https' is the protocol and ‘/contact-us/’ is the path to a specific page on the website.

Final Thoughts

I'm bias towards Google Domains. If you ever need help setting up a domain, reach out to me @KingCaleb3 on Twitter. There are three parts to a domain, the prefix, subdomain and domain name(name + extension). Lastly, keep your domains secure using something like Lets Encrypt or my favorite https://www.nakedssl.com/

Thanks for reading!