What is a domain name?

A domain name is your address on the Internet. Like any address, it is important for the success of your business that you use, promote and protect it so that customers can find you easily. More than this, your domain name is your online-identity and brand – your customers won't just know you as Your Company Inc., they will know you as "yourcompany.com".

Domain names were developed to make it easy for people to find things on the Internet. Computers find each other by using a set of numbers called an IP Address (IP is an acronym for Internet Protocol), these look like 63.125.8.90. The Domain Name System (DNS) is a set of software and computers that translates domain names into their matching IP addresses and visa versa.

The most common uses for domain names are for:

Web site addresses: the domain name is prefixed by "www"
Email addresses: the domain name follows the '@' symbol in the email address

Top level domains come in two types:

Generic top level domains (gTLDs). These include .net, .com, .org, .biz, .info and .name. The policy for these names – who is eligible for a name, and what names are allowed – is set by the international policy authority, ICANN.
Country Code top level domains (ccTLDs). These include .au for Australia, .uk for the United Kingdom, .nz for New Zealand, .us for the USA, etc. The policy for these names – who is eligible for a name, and what names are allowed – is set by a domain name authority in each country.

All domain names, regardless of whether they come under a gTLD or a ccTLD, have equal visibility on the internet. So "www.yourcompany.com.au" is equally visible as "www.yourcompany.com".

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