How crucial is to find the best domain name?

One of the most essential preconditions for creating a successful Internet presence is the domain. It is what visitors will notice first when they come across your site and what they will associate you with. The domain should be easy to remember, but should also be something that notifies your site's visitors what the web page is about.

Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs)

A domain name usually is composed of two parts - a Top-Level Domain Name (TLD) and a Second-Level Domain Name (SLD). If you have domain.com, for example, ".com" is the Top-Level Domain and "domain" is the SLD. There are several groups of Top-Level Domains that you should consider prior to picking the domain name you want. Your pick should be based on the goal of your web page and on its target audience. Let's investigate the gTLDs, or generic TLDs - these are the most typical Top-Level Domains meant to show a particular intention - .com (business organizations), .net (network infrastructures), .biz (corporations), .info (informative sites), .org (non-profit organizations), .mobi (handheld devices), .asia (the Asia Pacific), .name (individuals or families), .pro (particular professions), and so on. As you can perceive, these Top-Level Domain Names encompass most fields of life, so you should choose the one that would express the intention of your website best. There is no limitation as to who can register such domain names, but some of them contain extra procedures to show that you are eligible to own such a domain (.mobi and .pro, for instance).

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. Settling on such a domain is good if your target group of visitors is from a specific country. Many folks would rather buy commodities or services from a local web page, and if your aim is Canada, for example, picking a .ca Top-Level Domain Name could increase the visits to your web page.

Domain Name Forwarding

You can register different Top-Level Domain Names, which can forward your web site's visitors to a given website such as domain.com, for example. This would boost the traffic and decrease the risk of somebody snatching your site visitors by using the same name with a different Top-Level Domain - if you are not using a trademark.

Name Servers (NSs)

Every Top-Level Domain has domain records. The name server records (NS records, also known as DNS records) indicate where the domain is hosted, i.e. they point to the web hosting supplier whose name servers (NSs, also known as DNSs) it is using at the moment. You can modify the DNSs of your domain whenever you want. You can have your domain name registered with one provider and get the web hosting service itself from another. So, if you register your domain and find good website hosting packages somewhere else later, you can point your domain name to the new company's DNSs instantly.

Domain Name Server Records (DNS Records)

In general, as long as your domain name uses a specific pair of name servers, all its NS records will lead to the same web page hosting vendor. Some site hosting providers, though, permit you to edit specific domain name server records, including the A records and the MX records of your domain name. The A record is an IP address, which designates on which web server your web page is located, while the MX records designate which hosting server tackles the mail address accounts associated with your domain name. For example, if you hire a new web page designer and he designs an .ASP site that will be accommodated on his own Windows web hosting server, you may desire to change only the Internet Protocol address (the A record) but not the MX records of your domain name. In this way, www.domain.com will direct to the Windows web server, but your email boxes or any sub-domain names like forum.domain.com or shop.domain.com will still be in your present Linux site hosting account. The .ASP platform is built by Microsoft and demands a Windows web hosting server, although a Linux web hosting server would be far more secure.

Cut-Price TLDs Provided by 'Free Hostia'

Just a few web hosting distributors enable you to modify certain DNS records and quite often this an additional paid service. With Free Hostia , you get an extensive assortment of TLDs to pick from and you can edit all domain name server records or redirect the domain names via a redirection tool at no extra charge. That is why, 'Free Hostia' would be your best choice when it comes to managing your domain name and to setting up a successful presence on the Internet.