Domain Name 101

Most likely your website has a unique domain name that is specified by an IP address.

• Exactly what is an IP address?

In order to determine the location of a website or a server, an identifier is used by humans or computers. However, when it comes to humans, it is quite difficult to remember an IP address.

You see, the IP address is expressed in a numerical format. It consists of four numbers which are separated by periods which is also known as a ‘dotted-quad’. An IP address looks something like this – 127.0.0.1.

Do you think it is easy to memorize those numbers? Well this is one reason for domain names being invented. With the use of a domain name, a human can locate a website through user-friendly phrases or words. It is true that a domain name may consist partly of numbers, but they do not make up all of it, like what is seen with an IP address.

When it comes to formatting, domain names have several parts. The first part is called the Uniform Resource Locator or URL for short. This tells the browser what the domain name is going to point to.  This will usually be ‘http’ meaning that the browser can expect to locate a hypertext document.

A hypertext document is nothing more than a webpage. In some rare cases the URL may be ‘ftp’ meaning file transfer protocol. A webmaster may use this URL if he or she would like visitors to download files from their server.

“WWW” is the second part of the domain name and it stands for “World Wide Web”. This phrase lets humans and computers know the site the domain name is pointing to is from the Internet. It is followed by the actual domain name, which may be a combination of numbers, letters or phrases.

• A good domain name will be memorable, short and search-engine friendly.

A webmaster would be happier if the domain name is effective with SEO rather than just having a creative name. In order to do this, the webmaster makes sure that a domain name is chosen that has a widely searched keyword.

The ending of the domain name has an extension. This will tell a person a little more concerning a website’s origins. For example, the most common domain name extension is .com. This stands for ‘commercial’ and was originally intended for organizations in that vein.

However, this extension is used by just about every Tom, Dick and Harry looking to create a website. This is all for a good reason since most people who surf the web will think about .com before .biz, .org or .org pops into their head. That does not mean that the other extensions cannot become memorable. Just think of Wikipedia.org which is a vastly popular website in spite of its .org extension.

Domain name extension can also specifically point things out on a geographical level. Examples of this are .jp which stands for Japan or .fr which stands for France. The domain name can also be state-based such as .ca which stands for California. Both serve well as tools for localized Internet marketing.

• How does a person get a domain name?

They can get one from their own web hosting company provided that this service is offered or they may get one from a separate domain name company. Prices will vary with both options.

The typical cost will be somewhere between $6.50 and $35. I would tend to go somewhere with the middle of the road pricing.  You know the saying – you only get what you pay for. Sometimes the low price is correlated with the word cheap. If you want good service or a good domain name, then you are going to have to pay the price.

All about .Mobi (Mobile Domain Names)

Today let us learn about Mobi – Mobile Domain Names, if you can remember when the Internet first came into being, it was restricted to a wired connection to a computer. Then technology improved and the wireless Internet was born. The Internet could not be accessible through laptops, desktops and mobile devices that had no wiring.

The Internet is now portable, therefore as more mobile devices are created, consumers are exploring new methods to increase this portability. The wireless Internet has become so popular with mobile devices, that domain name companies had created a new extension called mobi.

While cell phones and the Internet are pervasive in today’s society, few people are actually using their cell phones to surf the Net, say experts. Part of the reason is that accessing content on the Web from a mobile handset is cumbersome, with some sites requiring a long Wireless Application Protocol, or WAP, address and others needing only a typical dot-com address. For end users, knowing which sites use their traditional Web addresses and which don’t is hit or miss.

The new .mobi domain should be the answer to this problem. The idea behind this is that users will know if they are using an address with the .mobi suffix because it will be formatted in a special way for mobile devices.

Mr. Vance Hedderel made the comment that some sites will be optimized for mobile users, but others will not. It is trying to be made easy for a user to know which sites can be accessed from a mobile device. Certain rules have been developed as well as best practices for developers in order to keep the mobile surfing experience consistent.

• .Mobi Domain Names.

Within the very first day, thousands of domain names had been registered. Yahoo, Nokia, Vodafone, 20th Century Fox, Sony and Microsoft and others all have registered sites. However, not everyone in this mobile community of ours thinks that a new domain is needed to spur the adoption of the mobile Internet. Some believe that the introduction of a new mobile domain may actually slow the development of the mobile Internet for a short time period.

Mobi is known as the extension of choice for websites that are being set up for cell phones, pda’s and other mobile devices. It can be bought from just about any major domain name company such as Network Solutions or GoDaddy. When you register for a .mobi name you go through the same kind of procedure that is associated with a traditional domain name. This involves first choosing a domain name such a .mobi and seeing if it is available or not.

If the name is not available, the domain company will offer suggestions as to that a person can use. Either way, the customer will get another chance to select another .mobi domain name. Once they get one that is not taken, they may proceed to purchase it. The contract will last from 1 to 2 years, depending on what the agreement was for with the domain name company. When the contract is ready to expire, a person will have the chance to renew their .mobi domain name if they want to continue to keep it.

• Why a Mobi Domain Name?

Why in the world would a webmaster decide to want to invest in a domain name that was strictly used for mobile devices? The reason is that they get to center on a relatively new market where there is little competition for business. Since most webmasters are trying to take advantage of the .nets, .coms and .orgs the .mobi has been somewhat forgotten. This means that it is prime for search engine keywords that would normally not be available for traditional domain names. This will also allow a webmaster a branding opportunity for their company.

Since a .mobi domain name indicates that a webmaster is creating a website especially designed for a mobile phone, it will not have the kinds of frills that it could have if it was being promoted on a computer. A good mobile website needs to be mostly textual with a very limited number of pics. Plain test is not fancy so it doesn’t require much loading time. Mobile phone sites should not be very big nor should they be created with frames or other complicated layouts.

A webmaster may consider trying to divert the mobile website visitor to a regular website. This can be done by advertising the domain name that is associated with the traditional website. One must understand that the site will only display appropriately on regular computers. Another option is to try to capture a person’s e-mail address by offering them something free such as low-cost merchandise or an e-book.

When the person signs up for the e-mail subscription, their first newsletter could advertise the traditional website that the webmaster wants to promote. By utilizing either of these two options, webmasters can still take advantage of pay-per-clicks or affiliate programs, revenue generators which may not be promoted on .mobi websites due to viewing limitations with banner or text ads. You can search or register your mobile domain name here .