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Understanding
Domains
Using the Internet can be a bit daunting at first.
There are so many terms and short cuts people talk about, and it can be
confusing. In simpler terms, each web site on the Internet
has a name that is used to find that site. That name is called the URL
(Universal Resource Locator) of the site and usually takes the form of
http://www.domainname.extension
Some web sites can be identified without specifying
the “http:” so typing www.domainname.extension will be sufficient; other sites
don’t include the “www” and will just be
http://domainname.extension.
Each site selects its own domain name; ideally,
the domain name will give you an indication of the site’s purpose and usefulness
to you. It may include the company or organization name, or some other term.
Examples of domain names are savetimeonline, wordconstructions, businessmums,
IBM, ninemsn and abc.
The extension of a URL is a short abbreviation that
can tell you about the site. Some of the most common extensions are listed below
with a simple definition of the type.
Extension |
Abbreviation
of |
What it refers
to |
|
.com |
commercial |
Used by businesses |
|
.net |
network |
Used by Service providers initially, now also used
by many businesses |
|
.org |
Organization |
Used by non-profit organizations
|
|
.edu |
Education |
Used by Universities, schools and related
bodies |
|
.gov |
Government |
Used by Government departments and
affiliates |
|
.info |
Information |
Site is designed to provide information rather than
sell products or services |
|
.biz |
Business |
Used by Businesses, although less common than
alternatives above |
Often, you will see more letters after the three
letter extension. These are usually an indication of where the site is based; a
lack of a country code may represent the USA, but many non USA sites don’t
include a country code either as it is not compulsory to do so. Most countries,
however, do have regulations in place about who can use their country
code.
A three letter code and the country code are both
classed as an extension.
Common country codes are as follows:
Code |
Country Code |
Country |
Country Code |
|
.au |
Australia |
.nz |
New Zealand |
|
.uk |
United Kingdom |
.ca |
Canada |
|
.jp |
Japam |
.us |
USA (not often used) |
|
.sg |
Singapore |
.it |
Italy |
|
.my |
Malaysia |
.fr |
France |
|
.ch |
China |
.de |
Germany |
When computers are looking for the site you
request, they read from right to left; it is comparable to a postal service
reading an envelope from the bottom up. First step is knowing which country is
relevant, second step is the area (of the country or of the internet), and so
on.
The right hand extension is known as a first level
domain and is the controlling feature. Once a URL includes a country code, other
extensions are as specified by that country.
For instance, company xyz could have the url
www.xyz.com. If it is a British business, it may become www.xyz.co.uk as this is
the standard ending for British businesses.
Once you understand some basics of URL naming, you
can interpret differences without too much trouble. A little more knowledge
about URLs can save you from looking at irrelevant sites.
--
Tash Hughes is the owner of Word
Constructions and assists businesses in
preparing all written documentation and web site content. Tash also writes
articles for magazines, newsletter and websites.
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