The glossary contains all the important information about the domain. Here you can find out exactly what it is and what benefits it has. You can also find out what you need a domain for.

what is a domain?

Each domain only exists once. It is the designation for a separate area of the Domain Name System (DNS). For example, for websites that go online. Domains are also part of the Uniform Resource Locator or URL for short. It provides information about where the respective resource in the hierarchical arrangement is located. As domains have to be translated into IP addresses, name servers are required. These are very special servers that are only intended for name resolution. The complete name of domains is the Fully Qualified Domain Name, or FQDN for short. It is made up of four areas.

• First-level domains are the endings located after the dot. In Germany, for example, .de or .com.
• Second-level domains provide information about the website being accessed
• .
• This can be the name of a company, such as signundsinn here
.
• third-level domains ensure that website operators can divide various other information into sub-addresses. This allows them to be organised by country or into different categories.
• Then there is the root label, also known as the null label. It is the first level of the DNS. In relation to the FQDN, it is described as empty. For this reason, points are not used online in this context. This is why first level domains should always be prioritised.

The names of domains are administered by registrars in the respective country. In Germany, DENIC takes care of this. However, domains are not the same as URLs.

What domains are available?

It can be difficult to find the right web address. The name must not only sound good, but should also be easy to memorise. Sometimes that's not so easy. But there are other difficulties too. If you don't have any experience with this, you may not be able to navigate the different domain types and levels that are currently available. You can now find out all the important details about the most common types of domains. In future, you will know exactly how to proceed in order to find good domains. Do you need support with your CMS? Our signundsinn support will take care of you.

Top-level domains or TLDs

Top-level domains (abbreviated as TLDs) are, as the name suggests, found at the highest level of name resolutions. In this form, top-level domains are always found at the last position of web addresses. In other words, on the right-hand side after the dot. Another name for this is domain extension. There are different top-level domains. Here in Germany, for example, .de, but also .com or .org. Top-level domains are assigned by the IANA. This is a section of the organisation Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers or ICANN, which has been carrying out its work since 1998. The IANA determines the domain extensions and sells the rights to them to the aforementioned registrars. They then sell these to domain providers.

There were only seven top-level domains at the beginning of the web addresses. The first was .com, while .org was intended for commercial offers on the Internet. An open domain extension for non-profit organisations is .net, and .int for Internet service providers. There is also a strictly limited ending for international organisations, programmes and companies. For universities and trade schools the ending is .edu, for the US government .gov. The agencies, departments and services of the US Department of Defence have been given the TLD .mil.

There are other TLDs depending on the country. Germany has been given the TLD .de, Switzerland .ch. Spain works with .es, France with .fr, Italy with .it. The United Kingdom including Northern Ireland has been given the ending .uk, the USA the ending .us. Other TLDs are .ru for Russia, .cn for China and .eg for Egypt.

Non-sponsored gTLDs are also assigned. Companies receive the ending .biz, information services .info. Private individuals work with .name, various professional groups with .pro. Sponsored gTLDs include .jobs for company job adverts and .aero for aviation.

Second-level domainsThen

second-level domains. They are assigned to countries such as .co.uk for business advertising or .gov.uk for the UK government.

Third-level domains

There are also third-level domains. If required, an additional domain level can be assigned that comes before second-level domains. Third-level domains are created because the content of the pages or shops should be better structured. This allows you to emphasise different language versions or thematic focuses in the web addresses without changing the domain name. For example, de. then appears before the actual name of a website.

How to find the right domain name for your websiteThe

know-how about the structures of websites and the many endings is useful for you. This will help you find the right name faster and better. However, it is important to keep the Internet address as simple as possible. The domains you choose should fit your company perfectly and make it easy for users to find you on the Internet.