Domain name

A domain name is not the website and not the hosting. It is a name you rent, usually for one to ten years at a time, from a domain registrar, and it simply points somewhere. You can keep the same domain while changing the host, the design and the email provider underneath it, which is why holding it in the business's own name matters more than any other single asset of a small business site.

Every domain ends in a top-level domain (TLD) such as .com, .de or .org. Country-code endings like .de or .it signal a market; generic ones like .com signal nothing in particular. Some country endings come with conditions, such as a local address or business presence, so check the registry's rules before building a brand around one.

How it works

When someone types a domain into a browser, the browser asks the Domain Name System which server answers for that name. DNS looks up the records set for the domain and returns an IP address, the numeric location of the server. The browser then connects to that server and requests the page. The whole lookup normally takes a fraction of a second and is cached so it does not repeat on every click.

The same domain also controls your email. Separate DNS records tell the world which servers accept mail for addresses at your domain, so the name carries both the website and the inbox.

A domain is read from right to left. In shop.example.com, the ending .com is the top-level domain, example is the name you registered (the second-level domain) and shop is a subdomain you can create yourself. Names can also contain characters beyond plain A to Z, such as ä, ë or letters from other scripts; behind the scenes these are stored in an ASCII form beginning with xn--, which is why such domains sometimes look strange when copied into emails or older software.

Example

A dental clinic registers its name with a .com ending and the local country-code ending as well. The website lives on one host and the email on a separate provider. Three years later the clinic moves to a faster host; patients notice nothing, because the address on the business cards, the Google listing and every link pointing to the site stay exactly the same.

To check your own domain, run it through a public WHOIS or RDAP lookup. The result shows which registrar holds it, when it was first registered, when it expires and its status codes, such as a transfer lock. If the expiry date is close, auto-renew is off, or the registrar is one you do not recognise, that is the moment to fix it, not after the site goes dark.

Why it matters for your business

Your domain appears on signage, invoices, ads and every link other sites have made to you. Losing it, through a missed renewal or because it was registered in a former supplier's name, means rebuilding all of that and, in the worst case, someone else collecting your traffic and email. A short, spellable domain registered in the business's own account is cheap insurance. A clever or exotic ending matters far less than people think; customers mostly arrive through search, links and maps rather than by typing.

Common mistakes

• Letting a web designer or agency register the domain in their own name, so the business does not legally control it.
• Turning off auto-renew or using an old card on the account, then losing the domain when it expires.
• Choosing a name with hyphens, doubled letters or awkward spellings that people mishear when it is said aloud.
• Buying many variations of the name and then never redirecting them to the main site.

Questions people ask

How much does a domain name cost?

Most common endings cost a modest yearly fee, often in the range of a few to a few dozen euros, though prices vary by ending and registrar. Watch for cheap first-year offers that renew at a higher rate, and for premium names that are priced individually by the current owner.

Do I own my domain name forever?

No. You hold the right to use it for as long as you keep renewing the registration. If it expires and is not renewed within the grace period the registry allows, it can be released and registered by anyone else, so renewal reminders and a valid payment method matter.

Is a domain name the same as a website?

No. The domain is only the address. The website is the set of files and data stored on a web host. You need both, and they can come from different companies, which lets you change one without touching the other.