A Domain name is a unique name that is used to identify a website. The top level domain name for this website is http://www.iukhost.com. The domain is what is entered into a web browser to load a website. There are many different extensions for domain name. The extension is the part at the end, in this case “.com”. Others include .net, .org, .co.uk, .org.uk, .us, .gov and many more.

Domain names can contain letters, numbers and a small selection of symbols. Domain names are used to allow web addresses to be remembered more easily so that users do not need to know the web server’s IP address. For someone looking to start their own website the first thing that they will need is a domain name. This can be purchased from a domain registrar or most web hosting companies. Once you have a domain name you can then move on to look for web hosting.

For a website to appear when the domain name is entered into a web browser there needs to be a web hosting account associated with the domain. Once the website owner has a domain name and hosting package the two need to be linked using domain name servers (DNS). After the correct DNS has been configured the domain name will resolve to the web pages hosted on the web server.

Domain names can be registered for a specific period of time. Most domains are registered for one year and then they are renewed after that time period has passed. Most registrar’s will allow you to register a name for many years into the future however some require a minimum registration period such as two years. To ensure that you do not forget to renew your domain, the majority of registrar’s have the option to auto renew it before it is about to expire. This means that you do not have to worry about forgetting to renew it.