Websites and Email addresses all use a Domain Name |
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The actual domain name is the bit after the www. or https:// for a website address or after the @ symbol in an email.
The domain name is owned by a registrant who is the legal owner of the unique name.
Think of it as a sort of telephone number to access the beginning of a website or homepage.
So if you owned the domain easykey.uk you could use it as follows:
To use this domain for a Website Address it would be: www.easykey.uk or https://easykey.uk
To use the domain for Email Addresses it could be:
- info@easykey.uk
- sales@easykey.uk
- fred.bloggs@easykey.uk
Note: Many businesses still don't use their domain name for their email using @gmail.com or @hotmail.com instead.
Read Stop using free email for your business!
Domain Forwarding
Sometimes the domain will automatically change after you have typed in an address. This is because some website addresses are set to forward you on to another address or sub address. Try www.flash.com and watch what happens to the address in the address bar.
Aliasing
Many companies arrange that different domains will take you to the same website. Two methods of aliasing are commonly used:
Method One - Duplicate
Instead of changing the domain the whole website is repeated using the alias - so the complete website is duplicated without physically hosting it twice.
Method Two - 301 Redirect
Almost like forwarding except if you try to navigate to any sub-pages of an aliased domain it will redirect you to the primary domain. This is very useful when changing the primary domain of a long-established website as it informs search engines where the 'real' page currently exists. For example try going to ek.biz/websites and you will be redirected to easykey.uk/websites
This is called aliasing - and the same technique can be applied for email addresses.
How do I get my own Domain Name?
Most Domain Names are sold on a first-come, first-served basis. Once a domain is registered it belongs to you as long as you keep renewing it (usually once a year)