How important can an affordable domain be?

One of the most vital preconditions for building a successful web presence is the domain name. It is what people will spot first when they stumble upon your website and what they will identify you with. The domain name should be easy to remember, but should also be something that tells your visitors what the site is about.

Generic Top-Level Domain Names (gTLDs)

A domain typically is composed of 2 parts - a Top-Level Domain (TLD) and a Second-Level Domain (SLD). If you have domain.com, for example, ".com" is the Top-Level Domain Name and "domain" is the Second-Level Domain Name. There are a few categories of TLDs that you should contemplate prior to picking the domain name you wish. Your pick should depend on the aim of your website and on its target spectators. Let's explore the gTLDs, or generic Top-Level Domains - these are the most common Top-Level Domains meant to signify a given intention - .com (business entities), .net (networks), .biz (companies), .info (informational sites), .org (non-profit organizations), .mobi (mobile devices), .asia (the Asia-Pacific), .name (individuals or families), .pro (specific professions), and so on. As you can see, these Top-Level Domains cover most spheres of life, so you should choose the one that would depict the purpose of your web site best. There is no limitation as to who can register such Top-Level Domains, but some of them include additional requirements to confirm that you are eligible to keep such a TLD (.mobi and .pro, for example).

Country-code Top-Level Domains (ccTLDs)

The ccTLDs, or country-code Top-Level Domain Names, are country-specific Top-Level Domain Names. Each country has its own ccTLD. Picking such a Top-Level Domain is good if your target group of visitors is from a given country. Many people would prefer to buy goods or services from a local site, and if your target is Canada, for instance, registering a .ca domain name could increase the visits to your web site.

Domain Redirection

You can register several domain names, which can redirect your visitors to a specific web site such as domain.com, for instance. This would raise the traffic and reduce the likelihood of somebody stealing your site visitors by using the same SLD with another TLD - if you are not using a trademark.

Name Servers (NSs)

Each domain name has domain records. The name server records (NS records, also known as DNS records) indicate where the domain name is hosted, i.e. they point to the web hosting company whose name servers (NSs, aka DNSs) it is using now. You can change the NSs of your domain name whenever you want. You can have your domain registered with one provider and get the web site hosting service itself from another. So, if you register your domain name and discover good website hosting packages someplace else afterwards, you can point your domain to the present company's NSs at once.

Name Server Records (NS Records)

On the whole, as long as your domain name uses a specific set of DNSs, all its NS records will point to the same site hosting vendor. Some site hosting distributors, though, enable you to edit certain records, including the A records and the MX records of your domain. The A record is an Internet Protocol address, which discloses on which web server your web site is hosted, while the MX records designate which web server tackles the email aliases associated with your domain name. For instance, if you appoint a new site designer and he designs an .ASP website that will be accommodated on his personal Windows web server, you may desire to change only the Internet Protocol address (the A record) but not the MX records of your domain name. Thus, www.domain.com will direct to the Windows hosting server, but your e-mail accounts or any sub-domains like forum.domain.com or shop.domain.com will still be in your present Linux web site hosting account. The .ASP environment is created by Microsoft and requests a Windows server, even though a Linux web server would be far more reliable.

Cheap Top-Level Domain Names Delivered by 'Free Hostia'

Only a few web hosting providers enable you to edit particular name server records and very often this an extra paid service. With Free Hostia , you have an enormous collection of Top-Level Domains to select from and you can modify all domain name records or redirect the domain names via a redirection tool at no additional charge. Because of that, 'Free Hostia' would be your finest choice when it comes to handling your domain name and to establishing a successful presence on the Internet.