We explain what a domain is on the Internet, the types that exist and how it is composed. Also, how it works and some examples.
What is a domain on the Internet?
It is known as a domain on the Internet when unique name by which a web page or website identifies itself, within the vast sea of the Red.
Since the Internet pages, as well as all the information on the network, are actually not in cyberspace but on a real 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 this method of substitutions is not used, 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 simply typing http://google.com, your domain name. Secondly, the same IP address can be shared between several domains, so it would be an inaccurate localization method.
Domain names usually reflect the nature of the site to be visited and they 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:
- Organization name’s. The specific name of the company, person or organization of any kind that we are looking for, such as Google.
- Type of organization. It can be discerned between commercial (.com), telecommunications (.net de network), 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) It is the input that we must provide to the browser so that it leads 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 they operate as soon as an Internet user enters the URL address in their browser 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 instructions for searching and requesting information begins with a simple phrase. in a few seconds it 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 television.
- .it is For sites linked to Spain.
- .br For sites linked to Brazil.
- .mx For sites linked to Mexico.
- .php For dynamic content via hypertext preprocessor.