The Basics of Domain Names
If you had to call a friend, you will probably dial in 012345678. You will have a contacts app that stores each phone number and associates them with a name. It would be humanely impossible to memorize the phone number of every contact in your phone.
Similarly, websites are associated with the address of its location in the form of IP Addresses. The IP Address for Google’s public IP Address is 8.8.8.8 and it was done on purpose for people to remember. But remembering the IP Address of every website is even more impossible!
How Domain Names Work?
Domain Names are uniquely associated with an IP Address. This makes it easy for people to remember them! We all know Google, Yahoo and Youtube because we have familiarized the company and its brand.
- You searched for www.onedigitalsquad.com
- Your request is submitted to a global network of Domain Name Server (DNS) which checks its records.
- When the name matches its record to an IP Address of where the website is stored it submits the request to the name server (your website host).
- Your website host receives that request and sends the information to your computer and your computer will download the website and present it on your screen.
This may sound like a lengthy step, but it happens so fast thanks to the power of the internet. Your website loads onto your screen in matters of seconds (depending on your internet speed).
Domain Name vs Website vs Web Hosting
Websites are simply a Word Document that consist of html codes. That does not mean that any Tom, Dick & Hary can create one with Microsoft Word. It requires a Professional Website Designer to code and design a website.
Your website is stored on a web host server. In simple words, the web hosting is the physical storage of your website. You can learn more about web hosting in our article here.
Domain name is a name that is assigned to the address of your website. The domain name for this website is onedigitalsquad.com and it points to an IP Address that is resting on a website host.
Types of Domain Names
You may have came across different types of domain extensions such as .com, .my, .edu, .info and combinations of .com.my. These extensions has the purpose of identifying a domain. Most commercial businesses go for the .com extension as it goes into the commercial category. There are also country specific domains such as .my (Malaysia), .sg (Singapore) and .uk(United Kingdom). Commercial extensions can be combined with country type such as .com.my to further identify the business as a Malaysian company.
Some domain name providers provide offers for other domains like .info, .io, .online, .biz, .xyz and many more that may seem infinitely cheape. We do not recommend business owners to go for domains other than the .com extension no matter how tempting it may seem! This is because these extensions are sometimes associated with scam sites and have built a bad reputation amongst the public.
In Malaysia businesses that opt in for the .com.my extension will need to be registered with Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (SSM). This is a requirement set by the Malaysia Network Information Centre (MYNIC) which benefits to improve business credibility.
