- What is a domain on the Internet?
- How is a domain on the Internet composed?
- URL and domain name
- How does a domain work on the Internet?
- Internet domain examples
We explain what a domain is on the Internet, the types that there are and how it is composed. Also, how it works and some examples.
What is a domain on the Internet?
A domain on the Internet is known as the unique name with which a Web page or a website is identified, within the vast sea of the Net.
Since the pages of Internet, as well as all the information of the net, they are really not in cyberspace but in a server somewhere in the world, the system has a series of IP addresses to locate where to look for what data. But since such addresses are difficult to memorize, we use a domain name (and a naming system, such as DNS) to replace these addresses.
Thus, if you do not use this method of substitutions, to access such famous portals as the online search engine Google, you would have to enter the IP address http://172.217.10.110/ instead of just typing http://google.com, your domain name. On the other hand, the same IP address can be shared between several domains, so it would be an inaccurate location method.
Domain names often reflect the nature of the site to be visited and are often customizable, marketable, or private. In addition, they are made up of a series of abbreviations that often reveal information about the website you are trying to access, such as your country, your affiliation, etc.
Thus, there are two types of domain on the Internet:
- Territorial Top Level Domains (ccTLD). Those that distinguish between countries where the information is located or to whom the website belongs. For example: those ending in .ve (Venezuela), .ar (Argentina) or .cl (Chile).
- Generic Top Level Domains (gTLD). These are commercial generic domains, which can be bought and sold without national implications of any kind, such as .com, .net, .org.
How is a domain on the Internet composed?
Domains on the Internet can be alphanumeric, that is, made up of letters and numbers, in a specific and punctual sequence. This name can be divided into:
- Name of the organization. The specific name of the business, person or organization of any type that we are looking for, such as Google.
- Organization type. It can be discerned between commercial (.com), telecommunications (.net denetwork), organizational (.org), governmental (.gob), etc.
URL and domain name
The domain name is not the same as the URL that appears in our browser when we enter a website. The domain name is the "title" of the page or service visited (for example, http://google.com), while the URL (acronym for Uniform Resource Locator, that is, Uniform Resource Locator) is the input that we must provide to the browser to take us to the appropriate domain (for example: http://www.google.com). In the example provided they are very similar, but it may be the case that they are radically different.
How does a domain work on the Internet?
Domains operate as soon as a Username Internet enter in your browser the URL address corresponding to the domain of the desired page.
Instead of entering the IP number, enter a sequence of letters, for example, http://www.google.com and your browser will link that name with the digital path to the information, contained in a web server or several.
Thus, a series of search instructions and information request begins with a simple phrase that, in a few seconds, presents the desired Web Page to the user. These domains are contained in a kind of indexes, called DNS, which allow to speed up the process.
Internet domain examples
Some examples of specific domains on the Internet are the following:
- .net For networks and telecommunications (network).
- .com For commercial initiatives.
- .info For informational or outreach networks
- .edu For educational portals.
- .tv For portals that have to do with the TV.
- .es For sites linked to Spain.
- .br For sites linked to Brazil.
- .mx For sites linked to Mexico.
- .php For dynamic content via preprocessor hypertext.