What is a Domain?

A domain is a domain name, which is the address people use to access your website, typically made up of the company name and any additional subdomain names. These days, a domain name is essential for any website and it is an important part of a company’s branding and identity. Domain names are generally registered and renewed with a domain registrar, who acts as a registrar of record for a particular domain name.

The History of Domain Names

The first domain name was symbolics.com and it was registered in March 1985. It was initially used only by computers connected to the Arpanet, which later became the Internet. At that time, the domain registrar was the ARPANET Network Information Center (NIC) or MIT. Since then, the Internet has become immensely popular and the number of domain names has been steadily increasing, with more than 340 million domain names registered as of June 2020.

Different Types of Domain Names

There are currently three types of domain names: generic top-level domains (gTLDs) such as .com, .net, and .org; country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs) such as .us and .uk; and new generic top-level domains (new gTLDs) such as .info and .club. Within each of these domains, there are many different domains available, so depending on the type of website you are looking to create, there is likely to be a domain available to match it.

Conclusion

A domain name is an important piece of your website and it is essential for branding, identity, and people to remember how to access your website. Domain names are typically registered and renewed with a domain registrar, who acts as a registrar of record for a particular domain name. Domain names can fall into three categories: generic top-level domains (gTLDs), country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs), and new generic top-level domains (new gTLDs). No matter what type of website you are looking to create, there is likely to be a domain name available to match it.