How important can an affordable domain be?

One of the most important requirements for setting up a successful Internet presence is the domain. It is what visitors will spot first when they come across your site and what they will relate you with. The domain should be easy to memorize, but should also be something that informs your web site's visitors what the web site is about.

Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs)

A domain name typically has two constituents - a Top-Level Domain Name (TLD) and a Second-Level Domain Name (SLD). If you have domain.com, for instance, ".com" is the TLD and "domain" is the SLD. There are a couple of sets of Top-Level Domains that you should consider prior to choosing the domain name you wish. Your pick should be built upon the aim of your web page and on its target spectators. Let's scrutinize the gTLDs, or generic Top-Level Domains - these are the most popular Top-Level Domains intended to indicate a particular purpose - .com (commercial establishments), .net (network infrastructures), .biz (firms), .info (informative web sites), .org (not-for-profit organizations), .mobi (mobile devices), .asia (the Asia-Pacific region), .name (persons or families), .pro (certain walks of life), etc. As you can perceive, these TLDs encompass most realms of life, so you should settle on the one that would explain the purpose of your web site best. There is no limitation as to who can register such domain names, but some of them involve additional steps to confirm that you qualify to register such a domain name (.mobi and .pro, for instance).

Country-code Top-Level Domains (ccTLDs)

The ccTLDs, or country-code Top-Level Domains, are country-specific domains. Each country has its own ccTLD. Registering such a domain is good if your target group of web site visitors is from a certain country. Many people would rather purchase commodities or services from a local web page, and if your aim is Canada, for example, picking a .ca domain could increase the visits to your web page.

Domain Redirection

You can register a bunch of domains, which can forward your website's visitors to a specific site such as domain.com, for example. This would increase the traffic and reduce the possibility of someone snatching your web page visitors by using the same Second-Level Domain Name with a different Top-Level Domain - if you are not availing of a trademark.

Name Servers (NSs)

Each Top-Level Domain has domain name records. The name server records (NS records, aka DNS records) specify where the domain is hosted, in other words they point to the hosting firm whose name servers (NSs, also known as DNSs) it is utilizing now. You can switch the NSs of your domain name whenever you want. You can have your domain registered with one company and get the site hosting service itself from another. Hence, if you register your domain name and find good website hosting packages someplace else later, you can point your domain name to the current provider's name servers instantly.

Name Server Records (DNS Records)

On the whole, as long as your domain name utilizes a certain pair of NSs, all its NS records will lead to the same website hosting supplier. Some hosting vendors, however, permit you to edit certain DNS records, such as the A records and the MX records of your domain. The A record is an Internet Protocol address, which reveals on which hosting server your site is hosted, while the MX records exhibit which web hosting server handles the email address accounts associated with your domain name. For instance, if you hire a new site designer and he sets up an .ASP web page that will be located on his own Windows web hosting server, you may wish to modify only 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 hosting server, but your mailboxes or any sub-domains such as forum.domain.com or shop.domain.com will still be in your present Linux web hosting account. The .ASP environment is designed by Microsoft and requests a Windows web server, although a Linux hosting server would be far more reliable.

Cut-Rate Top-Level Domain Names Supplied by 'Exclusive Hosting'

Only a few web hosting providers permit you to modify particular domain records and very frequently this an additional paid service. With Exclusive Hosting , you get a large selection of TLDs to choose from and you can modify all domain records or forward the domain names through a redirection tool at no added charge. Because of that, 'Exclusive Hosting' would be your finest choice when it comes to administering your domain and to building a successful presence on the Internet.