Domain Faqs
What is a domain name?
A domain name is basically your identity on the internet. It is like your name and
address all in one. Without domain names, the only way to get around the internet would
be by using IP addresses, and it is much more difficult to remember a set of numbers
like 199.6.60.50 than it is mydomain.com. Computers work well with numbers, people work
well with words. Domains are used for websites and also for email. Your website might be
mydomain.com, and your email might be sushil@mydomain.com. In both examples, the
"mydomain.com" is the domain name.
Aren't domain names supposed to have "www" in them?
An actual domain name does not have a "www" in it. The "www" part is often used with the
website of a domain, but is not part of the actual domain itself. When you register a
domain, you register it as "mydomain.com" only, but your website might be
www.mydomain.com (or it may just be mydomain.com or both may in fact work).
How do I find who my domain is registered through?
The company that a domain is registered through is known as a domain registrar. A domain
registrar can be found by performing a whois lookup on the domain. There are many sites
that provide a whois lookup. One website that can do this can be found here. On this
site you can type the domain name into either the "Domain Info" field or the "Whois
Lookup(Domain)" field. For a .org site you usually have to go to pir.org and enter in
the .org domain there to get any information on the registrar. Here is an example of the
registrar on a whois.
What is a Whois listing?
A Whois listing contains information about the owner of a domain and other information
associated with the particular domain such as when it was first registered and when it
expires. It is important that the information listed in the Whois is up to date and
valid. The administrative contact in particular needs to remain valid and is used when
information needs to be sent to someone at the domain or for other tasks such as
transferring a domain to a different registrar.
What is the difference between a .com, a .net, a .org etc?
These days there is not that much difference between a .com, a .net or any other domain
extension. Originally they were used to differentiate between what the domain was being
used for. .com was for businesses (commercial) .net was for a technology based business
and .org was for non-profit type organizations. Now many companies and individuals will
register a .com, a .net and a .org domain all at once to protect their own interests.
What is a subdomain?
A subdomain adds an extra level to a domain name. If you have a domain of "mydomain.com"
then a subdomain of that might be "corporate.mydomain.com". Subdomains are commonly used
to assign unique names for a particular part of a network or website. A company might
have a public website that uses the main domain, and then a company only section of the
website that uses a subdomain.