A Map of Domain Facts That You Should Know

If you are reading this then it is obvious that you know about the internet.

Do you realize that the internet is truly one of the technological marvels of our age?

If you’re looking to domain fact, domain name history and how it works, you’ll really enjoy this.

I think you might have some questions like…

what is the difference between a domain name and website?

What is Domain name lifecycle?

Importance of a domain in online business?

Do you have a concept about your site?

And so on..

Do you think all domain names are equal?

They are not! Every domain name and extension have their own specialty and importance.

So, Here, you will find amazing “Domain Facts” that one should know and will get answers to all of your questions.

Before that take a quick look at here.

To grasp the immense size and reach of the internet, check out these quick stats about the worldwide web:

• Over 4.1 Billion individual internet users were reported visiting over 1.9 Billion websites globally.
• The worldwide web has penetrated over 55% and reaches to around 40% of the entire global population.
• This has also resulted in well over 342 Million domain names being registered on the top-level domains (TLDs).
• Interestingly, over 4 Million blog posts are uploaded every single day by over 6.7 Million bloggers from across the globe.
• Blogging the most popular content-based marketing strategy with over 65% market share of the digital marketing industry.

The internet also gave birth to e-commerce, which opened an exciting new frontier for small and large businesses alike.

• Today, the number of eCommerce websites around the world is anywhere between 12 Million and 24 Million as tens of thousands of new eCommerce websites get registered to go online every single day.

The stats above just prove the impressive reach and extent of the internet around the world.

As a user, you only see the view able content on the websites. In reality, the entire internet is a network of interconnected computers and servers that form a virtual world of their own. In this immense network, the domain name is the first and most basic requirement for any website.

Now, see a titanic list of domain facts in 2021 and domain name journey!

If you are planning to launch your own website or blog, do you know that you need to register a domain name even before you can launch your website? Choosing and registering the right kind of domain name is extremely important for the success of your new website? How to select the perfect domain name for your website? Well, then you need to understand just how close and essential domain names and websites are to each other.

In case you have never heard about domains for websites, then this article is definitely a must-read for you.

Here, you will learn all about:

1. Domain names
2. History of domain names
3. How domain names work
4. The difference between a website and domain name
5. The importance of domain names
6. What happens when domain names expire
7. The list of top-level domains (TLDs)
8. DNS and how it works
9. IDN domain names
10. gTLDs
11. TLDs
12. ccTLDs
13. Domain name registration and its lifecycle
14. Domain expiry process

What is a Domain Name?

Simply put, your website’s name is its domain name too.

Domain names are virtual addresses where users can view your websites on the internet. Your domain name helps the user’s computer to search and select IP (Internet Protocol) addresses of server computers where your website data is stored (host server).

As humans, the domain names are easier for us to remember. On the other hand, the IP addresses which are strings of numbers separated into sets of 1, 2 or 3 by periods, are easy to recognize by computers in the network.

Domain names can be made of alphabets, numbers of can be alphanumeric but have to be completely unique within its domain extension. Domain extensions are the set of alphabets that come after the actual domain name.

For example, when you type in www.Google.com in your browser to begin your search, “Google” is the domain name while the “.com” following it is the domain name extension.

Domain extensions are of various types, such as .com which is the most popular, followed by .net, .org, etc. To launch a website, you will need to first register your domain name with an authorized domain name registrar.

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Domain History

To know how it all started, here is a short but interesting history of domain names:

• com was the first ever domain name and was registered on 15^th March, 1985 by US-based computer makers Symbolics Inc.
• The year 1995 marked the time when domain name registration became a chargeable service as it was completely free prior to that.
• In 1998, the Domain Naming System (DNS) was privatized on the behest of the US Department of Commerce which was controlled by the US government until then. This led to the creation of ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) which is responsible for managing the internet infrastructure of domain name space and its development.
• 2003 marked the year when the Truth in Domain Names Act was incorporated into the PROTECT Act of 2003. It made it a punishable offence to create domain names with misleading titles, especially those that lure users to pornographic websites.
• In 2007, Vacation Rentals .com became the most expensive domain name to be registered when it was purchased for an astonishing USD $35 Million by Ben Sharples.
• In 2013, the ICANN announced that it has run out of four-letter .com domain. Every possible combination of letters between aaaa.com and zzzz.com had been registered by then.
• The next year, in 2014, over 100 new generic top level domains (gTLDs) were launched to accommodate the thriving growth of domain name requirements. The new generic TLDs consist of common words, such as “.music”, “.cars’, etc.

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How does a Domain Name work?

Now that you know the basics and history of domain names, let’s take a look at how a domain name works in a few simple steps:

1. User request – User type in the domain name of the website they wish to visit. On pressing the Enter button the request is sent to a DNS server.
2. DNS server checks – The DNS server will check to see whether the requested domain name is in its cache or database. If not found, the DNS server will send the domain request to another DNS server till the correct domain name-carrying DNS server is found.
3. DNS server updates – The first DNS server then updates its cache with the requested domain name in case it is requested again in the future.
4. User connects to Website server – Once the correct server with the requested domain name is found the user is instantly connected directly to it and can access the website normally.

This entire process takes less than a second and is processed instantly if the domain name entered is correct.

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What’s the difference between a Domain and a Website?

In simple words, the main difference between a domain and a website is:

• Domain names are the human-readable address of the website.
• Website is the platform containing the files and data that lets users browse and navigate the internet site.

In other words, you need to register your domain name first in order to launch and operate a website with the same name.

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Why is a Domain Name important?

After learning about how domain names work and the difference between a domain and a website, check out the facts below which show just why a domain name is important.

• Domain names identify you – Domain names are not simply virtual addresses for your website but actually help to identify you, your business or corporation.
• Domain names enhance organic search results – Out of all the numerous different parameters that SEO is based on your website’s URL is one of the most basic yet essential factors. Domain names with keywords are found to result in increased organic user traffic.
• Domain names add credibility – Small and large businesses alike can add credibility and professionalism to their operations by maintaining a website with their company name as domain name.
• Domain names have far reaching potential – Once you own the perfect domain name you can ensure to keep it for yourself by making sure to renew your domain name registration regularly. You can retain your domain name even when you are shifting your website from your current web hosting service to another web hosting service provider.
• Domain names become brands – Your domain name probably acts as the first branding strategy for your online business or website. With a simple, relevant and popularized domain name you can easily turn it into a powerful online marketing tool.

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What happens when a Domain expires?

Domain names are actually leased out to website owners for a specified period of time. The domain name you have registered is yours as long as you keep renewing the subscription before the allotted date of expiry, which is usually a year (12 months).

If you are wondering what happens when a domain name expires, then here’s the simple step-wise process below:

STEPS

1. Alerts for Domain Name Expiry – The domain.com sends at least two notices to alert you of the impending subscription expiry through emails. It sends a final notification through email after five days since the subscription expires.
2. Domain Name expires – When the domain name registry is not renewed before the expiry date, the domain’s status is changed to a “Renewal Grace Period” for the next 30 days. Owners can easily renew their domain name subscription within these 30 days without incurring additional charges. As soon as the domain name expires, your website will be replaced with a parking page indicating your domain name is expired and its other services have also stopped working.
3. End of Renewal Grace Period – Once the 30-days Renewal Grace Period after the expiry date of domain name registration ends, the status of your domain name is then changed to “Registrar Hold’ which is held for another 30-day period. You can still renew your domain name registration subscription within this 30-day Registrar Hold status but will have to pay a redemption charge along with renewal fee.
4. Auction of Expired Domain Name – During the Registrar Hold period, the registrar will probably try to auction off the expired domain name to the highest bidder. However, the highest bidder will still have to wait for the Registrar Period of 30 days to get over before getting ownership of the domain name. This is to ensure that if the original owner decides to renew their domain name registration within the Registrar Hold period the bidder can still get their refund on the bidding fee. Otherwise, the domain name’s registration is handed over to the highest bidder. (The expired domain name is listed on a Closeout Sale list where buyers can purchase the offered domain names at a considerably lower price along with the registration fee once the Registrar Hold period is over.)
5. Period of Redemption – In case the expired domain name is not auctioned or sold by the time the Registrar Period gets over, the domain name status is listed back in the registry for a 30-days Redemption Period. During this, the domain name is not changed or deleted for another 30 days. This is another chance for the original owner to regain ownership of their expired domain name once again by paying the redemption fee and the renewal fee.
6. Registry Grace Period ends – Once the 30-day Redemption period also ends, the domain name in question is then sent, pending to be deleted. In case there are no further actions performed by the original domain name owner, the domain registrar or domain registry during this period, the expired domain name is then sent for deletion. Once deleted from the domain registry, the domain name will against be open for bidding on public domain.

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List of Top-Level Domain Names

Domain names come in various types today, such as:

• Infrastructure Top Level Domain (ARPA)
• Generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs)
• Generic Restricted Top Level Domains (grTLDs)
• Sponsored Top Level Domains (sTLD)
• Country Code Top Level Domains (ccTLD)
• Test Top Level Domains (tTLD)

Here is the list of top-level domain (TLD) names:

1. .COM – Commercial and completely open TLD which was originally intended for business companies but can be registered by any individual now.
2. .ORG – Originally meant for non-profit organizations, this TLD comes under Public Interest Registry but can today be registered by any individual.
3. .NET – It was originally intended for use by domains under private or restricted intranet but is now available for use by any individual.
4. .INT – This is not an open TLD but is restricted for use by an organization, entity, committee, panel or office which is covered by an international treaty between two countries.
5. .EDU – It is restricted for use by select higher education institutes, such as universities or technical colleges.
6. .GOV – This domain is completely limited to use by the government, its agencies, states, counties and municipal organizations in the US and many other countries.
7. .MIL – This domain name is highly restricted and is available for use by only the US Military services.

In addition, individual country-code TLDs are also available for the entities, individuals or organizations within a specific country.

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What is DNS and how does DNS work?

Domain Name System, shortened to DNS, can be imagined as the phone directory of the internet.

DNS work to translate the domain names entered by users into the correct IP address attached to it. DNS servers allow us to simply use the domain name instead of having to remember and enter a website’s IP address when we wish to visit the website.

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IDN Domain Names

IDN, short of Internationalized Domain Name is a type of internet domain which has at least 1 label which is in part or completely in a language-specific script and notations, such as in Chinese, Arabic, Hindi, etc.

IDN Domain Names are restricted from search sometimes as these are composed of ASCII string with Punycode transcription. Hence, the internationalized domain names offer an incredible solution in translating names in native language scripts to those that can be easily recognized by the Domain Name System (DNS).

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What is a gTLD?

Since now you know sufficiently about importance of DNS and how DNS works, it’s time to learn more about the different types of TLDs.

Generic Top-Level Domains, known as gTLDs for short, is one of the most popular TLDs in use today. It contains normally used domain extensions, such as .com, .net, .org, .name, .pro, etc. These TLDs usually contain domains from the early development age of the domain name system (DNS). As of March 2018, there were over 1,200 gTLDs domains active.

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What is a TLDs?

A Top Level Domain, simply known as TLDs, contain the list of most commonly used domain name extensions, such as .com, .org, .net, .agency, etc. The TLDs are further divided into gTLDs and ccTLDs.

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What is ccTLDs?

The ccTLD, short for County Code Top Level Domain, is a type of popular TLDs. It is mostly reserved for use by departments and offices of the government from an individual country, sovereign or dependent territory.

A ccTLD normally consists of two initials for the specific country following a dot, for example, .US, or .UK.

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Domain Registration and Lifecycle

Domain registration can be done with any ICANN-authorized domain name registrar. The rates for domain name registration vary greatly, depending mostly on the popularity or relevance of the chosen domain name.

To upload and make your website live, you will first need to register your domain name and then require web hosting services for making your website online.

The lifecycle of domain names is anywhere between 1 year and 10 years and is pre-defined by the domain name registrar clearly at the time of buying subscription.

You will need to renew your domain name registry before the pre-decided date of expiration. In case you fail to renew your domain name before expiry then check the section above titled “what happens when domain name expires” to know learn the actual lifecycle of domain names.

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Domain Expiry

Each domain name is assigned a pre-determined life cycle before it is sold for registration. Once it expires, it goes through the following domain name expiry process:

• Day 1 After Domain Expires – 30-Day Renewal Grace Period begins when original subscriber can renew their expired subscription before the domain name is auctioned off while in this period.
• Day 30 After Domain Expires – Redemption Period of additional 30 days begins once the 30-days Renewal Grace Period expires. Owners can still renew their expired domains by paying a redemption charge along with the renewal fee.
• Day 60 After Domain Expires – Domain name is sent for deletion process as the 30-days Redemption Period gets over in case the domain has not been able to sell or auctioned off. Owners can yet renew their domain subscription within this 5-days deletion process.
• Day 65 After Domain Expires – Expired domain is deleted from registry and is then listed for registration again in the public domain.

Hopefully, the article was sufficient for you to learn all about domain names. Now you can launch your own website with confidence and retain your valuable domain name successfully.