Purchasing and Pointing Your Domain Name

Posted on 07 July 2008 by Suzanne

When it comes time to purchase a domain name for your new website there are a couple of things you should know.

When I got started with my first website … well my first few actually … there were some things I didn’t understand that really confused me about domain names. I’m guessing there are others out there who are just as confused as I was so I thought I’d quickly explain what I’ve learned.

What is a domain name?

A domain name is a Web address, such as godaddy.com, that is linked to an IP address (which represents a physical point on the Internet). When someone types a domain name into a Web browser, the requested Web page displays.A domain name consists of a top-level and a second-level domain. A top-level domain (TLD) is the part of the domain name located to the right of the dot (godaddy.com). The most common top-level domains are .COM, .NET, and .ORG. Some other popular top-level domains are .BIZ, .INFO, .NAME and .WS. These TLDs have certain guidelines but are, for the most part, available to any registrant, anywhere in the world.The part of the domain name located to the left of the dot — “godaddy,” in this case — is called the second-level domain (SLD) name. The second-level domain name is the “readable” part of the address and refers to the organization or entity behind the Internet address. Second-level domain names must be registered with an Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)-accredited registrar.

Your domain name is actually separate from your website hosting. They are independent of each other. You can purchase your domain from your hosting company or from another company.

Because you want your website files to show up when someone types in your domain name you will need to make sure that your domain name is “pointed” to the hosting company where your files are hosted.

For instance, I’ve always purchased my domain names from Go Daddy but I don’t necessarily use them as my only webhost. I like to purchase my domain names from Go Daddy because they are fairly inexpensive and their customer interface is very easy to use. If you run into something you don’t understand they also have awesome customer service.

Once you purchase your domain name you will need to go in and set up where you want that domain name pointed. The change you need to make is called the domain name server and it will be in the account where you purchased your domain name.

Log into your account and find the listing of your domain name/s. Click on the domain name you want to point and it should pull up a page where you can see the domain name server addresses. Before you can make this change you will need to get the name server addresses (there are two) from your hosting company. Once you have these you can fill them in and be sure to hit “save.” It will take between 24-72 hours for this change to take place.

I hope this was helpful. I love hearing from you so please post your comments below whether you have questions or you have something helpful to add to this post. *SmiLes* Suzanne

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