How valuable can an affordable domain be?

One of the most essential prerequisites for setting up a successful online presence is the domain name. It is what visitors will notice first when they visit your web page and what they will identify you with. The domain name should be easy to memorize, but should also be something that informs your website's visitors what the website is about.

Generic Top-Level Domain Names (gTLDs)

A domain name as a rule consists of 2 components - a Top-Level Domain Name (TLD) and a Second-Level Domain (SLD). If you have domain.com, for example, ".com" is the Top-Level Domain and "domain" is the Second-Level Domain. There are several groups of Top-Level Domains that you should consider prior to selecting the domain name you wish. Your selection should be built upon the aim of your site and on its target visitors. Let's investigate the gTLDs, or generic TLDs - these are the most widespread Top-Level Domain Names aimed to indicate a specific function - .com (commercial establishments), .net (network infrastructures), .biz (businesses), .info (informational websites), .org (organizations), .mobi (mobile devices), .asia (the Asia-Pacific region), .name (persons or families), .pro (given professions), and so on. As you can see, these TLDs encompass most realms of life, so you should opt for the one that would signify the intention of your site best. There is no limitation as to who can register such TLDs, but some of them contain extra steps to ascertain that you are eligible to keep such a TLD (.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 Domains. Each country has its own ccTLD. Choosing such a Top-Level Domain is good if your target group of visitors is from a specific country. Many individuals would like to buy commodities or services from a local web page, and if your target is Canada, for instance, registering a .ca domain could increase the visits to your web site.

URL Forwarding

You can register different domains, which can redirect your visitors to a specific website like domain.com, for example. This would boost the traffic and lower the likelihood of someone pinching your site visitors by using the same Second-Level Domain Name with another TLD - if you are not availing of a trademark.

Name Servers (NSs)

Each domain name has domain records. The name server records (NS records, a.k.a. DNS records) specify where the domain is hosted, in other words they point to the web hosting firm whose name servers (NSs, a.k.a. DNSs) it is using now. You can substitute the NSs of your domain name whenever you wish. You can have your domain registered with one firm and get the web page hosting service itself from another. So, if you register your domain and come across good website hosting services somewhere else afterwards, you can point your domain to the current company's name servers immediately.

Name Server Records (NS Records)

On the whole, as long as your domain name uses a particular pair of DNSs, all its domain records will direct to the same web hosting vendor. Some webspace hosting companies, though, allow you to modify certain domain name server records, among them the A records and the MX records of your domain. The A record is an IP address, which exhibits on which web hosting server your web page is hosted, whereas the MX records disclose which web server handles the e-mail accounts associated with your domain name. For instance, if you engage a new web page designer and he creates an .ASP web site that will be hosted on his personal Windows hosting server, you may desire to alter solely the Internet Protocol address (the A record) but not the MX records of your domain name. Thus, www.domain.com will direct to the Windows hosting server, but your e-mail accounts or any sub-domains like forum.domain.com or shop.domain.com will still be in your current Linux web space hosting account. The .ASP platform is devised by Microsoft and requires a Windows web hosting server, although a Linux web hosting server would be way more stable.

Cheap Domains Supplied by 'Free Hostia'

Just a number of web hosting companies allow you to modify given DNS records and very frequently this an extra paid service. With Free Hostia , you get a vast variety of Top-Level Domains to choose from and you can modify all domain name server records or redirect the domains through a redirection tool at no added cost. That is why, 'Free Hostia' would be your finest pick when it comes to handling your domain name and to building a successful presence on the Internet.