think about creating your own website, the first thing you need is to get a domain name, whether it is personal, a blog, an online store, or a website for your business, as it is the address through which people can access your site and start browsing it. .
You may have heard before that a domain is the address that appears in the browser, but in this article we will explain the system for how domains work more broadly and some basic concepts about domain names (or domains).
What is a domain?
Simply put, a domain can be defined as the address that is written in the browser bar to reach a specific website that you want to visit. For example: Google’s domain is Google, and it is written in this format: https://www.google.com . To make it easier for you, an analogy can be made. The domain or domain has a fingerprint, as it is unique, and every person has a distinctive fingerprint that is different from others.
Domain names that are offered for sale on the Internet by service providers (such as GoDaddy or Namecheap ), but in reality they are not owned by those sites, but they are allowed to resell and profit through them. Some rent a large group of those domains and then offer them at other prices, and the price varies. Domains vary from one site to another, and the prices will often be similar, because the basic price for any Domain Name is determined by ICANN , an organization that does not register domain names on the Internet.
How is my domain name unique to me?
This question may come to your mind, about how to maintain the exclusivity of your domain name. For example, when you type in your browser: google.com, do you think there is a possibility that you will reach Facebook through this name? or Yahoo? Or Amazon?
Of course not, it is impossible for this to happen, because the domain has been linked to the Google server, and thus the name will take you directly to the Google website – the famous search engine -.
Let’s find out more how this is done
Just like computers, each device is identified by an IP address, which is a sequential set of numbers separated by dots. Domains also work in the same way. Any website on the Internet has a fixed number, and the number cannot be similar to any other site.
The domain name consists of a group of alphabetical letters, which are the letters that express the name of a company or a brand name, which is what is called the domain name.
When purchasing a domain , the registrar, which is the company that owns the domains, registers the name of the domain and the DNS of the domain for the buyer for a specific period of time. To clarify further, the DNS is the number through which you can connect the domain to the server that you obtained through the hosting company .
After each new domain sale, the company updates the central database so that the domain name and its number become reserved for only one person, and no one else will be able to obtain it.
When a domain name is owned, all information about this domain becomes available in a database known as WHOIS , through which any information related to the domain name and its owner is identified, such as the name of the domain owner and any information related to it.
The purpose of registering domain data on the Internet is for it to be used by law enforcement authorities in connection with any problems that may arise in the future.
All DNS numbers are registered by the “ ICANN ” organization, which, as we mentioned previously, is a non-profit organization that aims to manage domain names and IP addresses on the Internet. ICANN, which is an abbreviation for the word Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, also helps in organizing and managing domain names on the Internet. .
You may be wondering: Can anyone buy a domain name for their website? The answer will be yes, absolutely anyone can buy a domain name for their website as long as the domain name is not owned by another person and is not linked to any website on the Internet. You can find out this by accessing reliable domain selling sites and typing the domain name to verify its availability.
How do I choose the best domain name?
Choosing a unique domain name is one of the most important things you will do for your website, because the domain name will be an important point of contact between your website and visitors and expresses your brand. The domain must contain keywords that are related to the content you provide, and therefore it must be chosen carefully. Careful so that you do not face the problem of changing the name later if you feel dissatisfied, in which case your site may be negatively affected as a result of this change.
Let me tell you some general tips for choosing the appropriate domain name:
- Using the .com extension is often the most popular
- Use the most popular words in your site’s field
- Use a name that reflects your site’s content
- Try to use a name that is easy and simple
- Make sure the name is free of any grammatical errors
- Try to make it unique so it’s easy to remember
- Avoid using numbers and symbols in the name
- Make sure you don’t use a similar name from a similar site
How is the domain linked to my website?
After we have explained in this article many basic points about the domain, it is time to explain how the domain works from a technical perspective, and to understand this you must be aware that every website has a dedicated and fixed IP, which is called a protocol, which is a sequential set of numbers and is In this format 146.60.120.201, but in any case you are not obligated to understand these matters, but of course this is in case you want to know more about how the domain works.
It is very difficult for us to remember those numbers that we mentioned above to reach the sites that we want to go to, but it would be easy to remember them if they were Google.com or Youtube.com instead of those complex numbers, and here the importance of the domain appears.
If things are still not clear to you, I will give you a small example:
When you want to go to the address of a friend or family member, it is much easier to remember the name of the street than to remember its coordinates, so having a domain name for any website on the Internet will be much better than remembering numbers. Randomness is difficult to memorize.
Therefore, when you type a domain name for any website in the browser bar, it starts searching for an IP address that matches the name you wrote, and here is the function of the DNS, which is an abbreviation for the word Domain Name System and is known as the “Domain Name System,” which stores any information related to the site in a database. So the browser starts fetching that information so that the user can view the site in a few seconds.
Domain extensions
The domain extension is the last part of the site name. For example, if we look at the Google address, we will find that the domain is in this form: www.google.com , and if we look at the domain of the website (WordPress in Arabic), you will see it in this form: www.wpar.net. What is after the last dot is what is known as By extension, there are many extensions such as .com and also .net and .org.
When you think of domain extensions, the first thing that comes to your mind is .com because it is considered the most widely used extension among different types of other extensions.
There are many extensions that are issued continuously. For example, in 1985 there was a limited number of extensions that did not exceed nine extensions, but over time more were added until there were more than 1000 extensions , and among those extensions, for example:
- .net
- .org
- .tect
- .store
- .online
- .press
- .space
- .site
- .io
And many other extensions. In general, when you buy a new domain, you are the one who determines what is most suitable for you, and we advise you to use the most famous extensions and what expresses your site. In addition, some extensions are exclusive to some organizations, such as governmental or educational extensions, and this is what we will explain more widely.
Now let’s get to know those extensions so that you know which one is best for your website:
The first extension is .com
It is a high-level and commonly used domain, and 40% of registered domains are .com because it is easier for people to write this extension than any other domain, it is familiar, in addition to adding it in the title of your site makes it look professional.
But there is only one problem if you think about choosing this extension, which is that most of the names are already registered and the process of choosing a good name for your site will be difficult because you will notice that very many names have become unavailable and have been registered by other people.
The second extension is .net
It is considered the second and best alternative to .com, but the .net extension is used by websites and companies that provide Internet and network services. This does not mean that it is limited to this use only. On the contrary, it has now become one of the most widely used extensions after .com. This extension is chosen from Before some in two cases:
The first case: If you find that the domain name that you wish to register is not available on the .com extension here, in a large percentage, you will find it available on the .net extension – that is, if you are lucky of course -, but it is better to search for a distinctive name or even change the name completely and search About a new domain name that is compatible with your website.
Because choosing names similar to other brands will cause a lot of confusion for visitors, and it will even be difficult to compete with major brands that have been present for many years on the scene. “Always let others be the ones who imitate you and do not be the one who imitates others.”
The second case: If you do not want others to use a name similar to your site, here you can reserve the same name on the .net extension and then direct it to your primary site on the .com domain, for example.
The third extension is .edu
It is one of the extensions designated for educational institutions, universities, and schools. Not only that, but this extension has become linked to many educational centers in some Arab and European countries, and the domain can be registered with this extension if the criteria are met for those who wish to obtain it.
This extension is very restricted and its policies are somewhat strict in order to strengthen the educational system and protect students.
The fourth extension is .org
It is an abbreviation of the word Organization and is used by non-profit organizations or institutions, and is also used by some famous companies, schools and associations.
The fifth extension is .gov
Government agencies, ministries, and some other government organizations can use the .gov extension, which is a domain managed by the General Services Administration ( GSA) , an independent agency based in the United States.
Some government extensions
There are many other major domains, such as .eg, which is specific to the Arab Republic of Egypt, and also .sa, which is affiliated with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. All recognized countries in the world have a custom code and extension that can be used, whether it is for a specific country, region, or geographic area.
This type of domain is the best choice for websites that want to target an audience from a specific geographic location or country, and will serve as a strong indicator for search engines to show your site to people from the same target region or country.
But in order to be able to obtain a domain with this extension, some countries need to ensure that the person who wants to obtain it is a resident of the same country, or that his business activity or company has a local presence and a commercial register in the same country, and in most cases registration is done from Through some government agencies and submitting the necessary papers to them.
Not only that, but some countries set a basic condition for the applicant to obtain this type of domain to be over 18 years old, and restrictions vary from one country to another. This is why you must check the rules and conditions of each country. There are some countries whose rules stipulate that a person must use the domain after owning it, and if it is not used within 180 days, it is considered expired.
What are the services associated with the domain?
Most domain selling sites offer great add-ons, some of which are free and some of which charge an additional fee on top of the basic domain price, and among these services are:
Sub domain
The domain, as we mentioned above, is available with many extensions, such as .com or .org, which is what we call the main domain or the primary domain “the domain,” from which it can branch out and include several other subdomains that help in organizing the site, so that it becomes easy to organize the site and move between it. Sections easily.
The subdomain is a distinct part of your website and the nature of its work is under the main domain, so website owners can create subpages and sections without the need to purchase a new primary domain, because with all ease those pages can be linked to the subdomain and start displaying them on your website and the subtitle will be in this form. www.subdomain.yoursite.com, or as shown in the previous image, this is one of Google’s support and help pages linked to a subdomain called Support.
SSL certificates
SSL certificates are installed on most websites in order to preserve users’ sensitive information and data so that they are safe when browsing your website.
The SSL security certificate will help you encrypt all data between the server and the web browser in order to ensure that the personal information of site users does not reach the hands of hackers and intruders. By installing this certificate on your site, you will gain more confidence, and you can know which sites are secured by looking at the site address, if any. https means that the site is secure, but if it is http only, the site does not use the security certificate.
Whois data protection
ICANN has confirmed through their website that anyone who purchases a domain must include correct information and contact data so that they can contact the domain owner if they need to, but this thing can make your data available to some people. There are sites through which you can Know any details about the domain owner, such as: name, address, registered email name, and other information such as: time of purchasing the domain, and time of its expiration.
To solve this problem, there are many hosting and domain selling companies that provide the Whois Privacy service, as it helps preserve your privacy and information on the Internet so that your data does not become displayed and available to everyone.
common questions
There may still be some questions in your mind about owning your own domain, and these are most of the questions that are expected to come to your mind, along with explanatory answers to them:
Do I have to pay annual fees to own a domain?
Once the domain is purchased, its ownership is transferred from the hosting company to the user, and the period depends on the amount paid. The domain can be purchased from one year to 10 years, and before the expiry of the specified period for the domain, most companies send an email to remind the user to renew before the domain is restored again.
The automatic renewal feature can be activated through your account on the domains website so that the website can renew the duration of the domain automatically, knowing that if the reservation period expires, the user has the ability to restore it within a period of between 15 and 30 days before it is offered for sale again. If you do not pay the renewal fees, someone else may buy it, and you will not be able to get it back unless the new buyer dispenses with it or the period expires without renewal.
Can I get a free domain?
There are many hosting companies that provide free services to users, such as: obtaining free hosting with limited capabilities and a free domain linked to the website name, and this enables them to attract more customers and at the same time it is one of the advertising methods used by many.
But of course there is a huge difference between getting a free domain and a paid domain. Because the free domain lacks many features, except that the free domain, as we explained when you obtain it, will not be yours, but rather includes the company name in the website address like this, for example: www.example.wordpress.net.
This is of course one of the things that will make your site unprofessional because no one prefers sites that do not have a domain name designated for them, which will negatively affect your business and will make you lose the credibility of the site and many customers.
Why do domain prices differ?
In fact, the prices of some domains are fixed; The cost of a domain annually is about $12, and some domain selling sites offer offers and discounts if you reserve the domain for a longer period, thus the cost decreases and may become only $10 annually.
But there are many factors that make some domains expensive, and the cost of one domain may reach more than 500 thousand dollars, but what is the reason for that?
In fact, one of the reasons why the price of a domain is high is that the name is very distinctive and unique. The price of the domain is determined according to the length of the name. For example: the shorter it is, the better and it is easily remembered. Also, domains have famous names that match the names of some companies. Major brands often have a high price compared to others, and the prices of some domains differ based on the extension, whether it is .com, .net, or .org.
In any case, most of the premium domains are actually owned by some people and are priced based on supply and demand. There are many points that determine the prices of these domains.
Business owners and major brands spend thousands of dollars – if not millions – in order to purchase a distinctive domain name that represents their brand and brings a good number of visitors to their site due to the ease of writing and remembering the name.
There are more than 76 million domains sold and registered around the world, and here the chance of finding a unique name for your site is very slim. For example, if your business is about selling clothes, for example, it is very difficult to find Clothes.com available among the offered domains because There are people whose job is to buy great names and hold them until the right buyer comes along who can pay a good sum for that name.
There are people who are willing to pay millions of dollars in exchange for a distinctive domain name, because the name makes a big difference in the success of most projects on the Internet. Looking at some famous domains , we will find that in 2008 Pizza.com was sold for 2.6 million dollars and Business.com was sold for $7.5 million in 1999.
It is very easy to remember the distinctive domain name and it is also easy to write it, except that it has a connection to the name of the product or service that you provide, taking into account that some people, when trying to search for a site that provides a specific service, some people type the name of the site in an expected manner, for example. Like a car selling or car rental website, they will type the address predictably like cars.com or if they are looking for a flower shop they will type flowers.com and this is called direct traffic which will help in bringing in more customers without paying any money for marketing. The site will save you a lot.
These are all examples through which we tried to explain the importance of having a distinctive domain name, and we also tried to explain the reasons why these people pay all that money in order to obtain the perfect domain for their websites.
How do you choose the perfect domain name?
Choosing a domain name is one of the most important things that you must think about carefully and not rush it, and make sure that the domain name is distinctive and represents your brand or your own site because in general it represents the identity of the site through which you will be able to leave an impact and imprint on others. This is not to say that choosing A good keyword name will greatly help your site appear better in search engines.
1- Always try to choose a short domain name, not more than 15 characters, and the fewer the better. You should also choose the domain name away from using any numbers or signs unless they have anything to do with your brand.
2- Choose a name that is easy to remember and write so that visitors can return to your site at any time easily and without complications.
3- Use keywords related to your brand. For example: Register the company name as a title, and try to limit it to an important keyword. Make the name of your site express what is inside it.
4- Use some tools and websites that allow you to search for available domains while displaying many related names that will simply help you choose the best one for you.
It is normal that when you first search for a specific name you want, you will find that 90 percent of the domain has been reserved by another party. You may find that the first 5 or 10 attempts at choosing the name have failed and that most of the names are reserved.
Do not despair and try again and again using your creativity and continue searching until you reach a suitable name that expresses the scope of your site. If you do not find it on .com, you can search on .net and so on, but of course .com and .net are the best, and we explained in detail each of these extensions at the beginning of the article. .
How do you buy a domain?
Domains can be purchased from domain reservation sites. There are hundreds of sites specialized in this matter, but we always recommend choosing the most famous and most trusted companies, including:
It is one of the largest companies selling domains and hosting on the Internet and has more than 18 million customers. It can be said that it is one of the best domain registration companies in the world because of its credibility, given that the company was founded in 1997 and was able to gain customer trust and acquire new customers over time. present day.
Godaddy cares a lot about customers, whether current or new, by offering many offers and discounts that you may not find anywhere else. Sometimes offers are made on domain prices that start with only $1 for the first year, and after that you are charged at the basic price of the domain, but this type of… You will not always find offers, but the company puts it out from time to time.
The company’s website features an easy-to-use interface. Once you enter the site, you will find a quick search tool through which you can type the name of the domain you want to search for, and the site will show you all available domains available for purchase.
Through Domain.com, you can register the domain for a period of up to 5 years or more, and thus you will not have to worry about renewing the domain every year. In addition, the company provides more than excellent customer service seven days a week. If you encounter any problems or need assistance, you will find The technical support is great and you will find a quick response to solve the problem.
In general, when you reserve a domain from domain selling sites, you will find that you have the ability to reserve the domain for at least one year, and you will have the ability to renew it after the specified period expires.
As is clear from the name of the company, Namecheap is considered one of the cheapest companies for selling domains. It is also one of the most famous web service providers. It is an ICANN-certified company that has developed itself over the past years until it was able to sell and provide more than 4 million domains.
Although the company was only specialized in selling domains, it now provides many services such as: web hosting, email, and other services.
Purchasing a domain is the first vital step that will greatly affect your site’s presence on the Internet. In order not to bore you with long delays, let us now learn about the steps necessary to purchase and register your domain.
There are many sites that offer the domain for free if you purchase hosting, which is intended for the space on which your site files will be uploaded, and others provide security and privacy protection certificates as well, so we always advise not to rush to buy from a specific company before looking at the rest of the companies and the offers they offer. Because of course, as long as you decide to own a domain, you need to buy hosting to connect it to the new domain.
In general, when purchasing a domain, make sure that the company you are dealing with is reliable and that it is registered with ICANN because it is responsible and the primary controller for all domains on the Internet.
What are the steps to register a domain?
The purchasing steps vary from one company to another, but the general idea is constant. Once you have chosen a suitable name for your site, it is time to register and purchase it by clicking on the word Buy next to the domain, or if the site is in English, click on the word Buy or Add To Cart, and the site will inform you of the annual domain cost.
The site will then take you to the next page, from which you can choose the number of years to reserve the domain if you wish to reserve the domain for long periods.
Finally, the site will ask you to enter your Visa or MasterCard credit card information along with some other contact information such as: name, phone number, address, and email. Just write them and agree to the terms of use and privacy policy, then click on the word “Complete Order” to complete the payment process and start registration. the range.
Fourth: Verify domain ownership
The payment process that you made in the previous step is the last thing, but you will need to confirm and prove your ownership of this domain, by clicking on the confirmation message that the site will send to your email and following some instructions in order to finalize the purchase process. Now you have your own domain that you can Link it to your website at any time.
We hope that you have benefited from this article in which we have clarified many questions about the domain by defining it, the nature of its work, how it can be purchased, what extensions are available, and many of the points that we have explained in detail.
