How essential can an affordable domain name be?

One of the most essential requirements for having a successful web presence is the domain name. It is what visitors will spot first when they discover your website and what they will identify you with. The domain name should be easy to remember, but should also be something that informs your web site's visitors what the web page is about.

Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs)

A domain name as a rule has two parts - a Top-Level Domain (TLD) and a Second-Level Domain Name (SLD). If you have domain.com, for example, ".com" is the Top-Level Domain and "domain" is the SLD. There are several groups of Top-Level Domains that you should consider before you choose the domain you wish. Your choice should be based on the aim of your web site and on its target viewers. Let's have a look at the gTLDs, or generic Top-Level Domains - these are the most popular Top-Level Domains meant to indicate a given purpose - .com (commercial organizations), .net (networks), .biz (businesses), .info (informative web pages), .org (non-profit organizations), .mobi (handheld devices), .asia (the Asia Pacific), .name (persons or relatives), .pro (specific walks of life), and so on. As you can perceive, these TLDs cover most fields of life, so you should select the one that would designate the purpose of your site best. There is no limitation as to who can register such domains, but some of them include additional steps to prove that you qualify to possess such a Top-Level Domain Name (.mobi and .pro, for instance).

Country-code Top-Level Domain Names (ccTLDs)

The ccTLDs, or country-code Top-Level Domains, are country-specific Top-Level Domains. Each country has its own ccTLD. Choosing such a Top-Level Domain is good if your target group of web page visitors is from a specific country. Many individuals would want to buy commodities or services from a local web page, and if your goal is Canada, for example, registering a .ca domain name could increase the visits to your web page.

URL Redirects

You can register different Top-Level Domain Names, which can forward your site's visitors to a specific website like domain.com, for example. This would boost the traffic and lower the likelihood of somebody stealing your web site visitors by using the same SLD with another Top-Level Domain - if you are not availing of a trademark.

Name Servers (NSs)

Each and every TLD has domain name records. The name server records (NS records, aka DNS records) exhibit where the domain is hosted, i.e. they point to the hosting vendor whose name servers (NSs, also known as DNSs) it is utilizing at present. You can modify the name servers of your domain whenever you like. You can have your domain name registered with one provider and get the web space hosting service itself from another. Thus, if you register your domain and come across good website hosting services somewhere else later, you can point your domain to the new company's DNSs straight away.

Domain Name Server Records (NS Records)

On the whole, as long as your domain name uses a given set of name servers, all its domain name records will lead to the same site hosting vendor. Some hosting distributors, though, enable you to edit certain NS records, including the A records and the MX records of your domain name. The A record is an Internet Protocol address, which shows on which web server your web site is situated, whereas the MX records demonstrate which web server tackles the email mailbox accounts associated with your domain name. For instance, if you hire a new site designer and he creates an .ASP site that will be hosted on his private Windows server, you may desire to modify only the IP address (the A record) but not the MX records of your domain name. Thus, www.domain.com will point to the Windows web hosting server, but your email boxes or any sub-domains like forum.domain.com or shop.domain.com will still be in your current Linux web page hosting account. The .ASP platform is devised by Microsoft and requires a Windows server, although a Linux server would be far more secure.

Cut-Rate TLDs Furnished by 'Exclusive Hosting'

Just a few web hosting companies enable you to edit particular records and quite often this an extra paid service. With Exclusive Hosting , you have a large number of Top-Level Domains to pick from and you can modify all domain name records or redirect the domains through a redirection tool at no additional charge. That is why, 'Exclusive Hosting' would be your finest pick when it comes to managing your domain name and to building a successful presence on the Internet.