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Master of Your Domain

 

Like any real-world business, the key to a successful Web-based business is getting customers in the door or, more accurately, getting them to visit your site. One of the best ways for a small company to attract visitors--and to begin building a powerful online presence--is to register a catchy domain name.

The benefits of having your own domain name are obvious. If you hope to generate sales through your Web site, visitors must be able to find it. If you advertise your Web address on billboards, or in newspapers, magazines, and commercials, it's essential that customers remember it long enough to reach their computers.

The right domain name can quickly become a household word--and a tool for branding your business. Amazon.com has a memorable moniker that also conveys a message about the breadth of its book-selling business. In a testimony to the power of a good name, the online giant briefly flirted with "Cadabra" (as in abracadabra) but quickly dropped after it discovered most people thought the company's name was "Cadaver."

But coming up with a snappy name is the easy part. Many small businesses find the process of domain name registration an exercise in frustration, fraught with technical terms and confusing concepts. To help you master your domain, Inc. Online has prepared a simple guide that answers the most commonly asked questions about this process.


Learn the Jargon
Here's a brief glossary of the most common words and phrases, courtesy of NetLingo: The Internet Language Dictionary (copyright, 1995).

Domain name: The "address" or URL of a particular Web site. This is also how you describe the name that is at the right of the @ sign in an Internet address.

Domain name system (DNS): A database system that translates an IP address into a domain name. For example, a numeric IP address such as 207.219.116.4 is converted into netlingo.com. The DNS is a static, hierarchical name service and it uses TCP/IP hosts, and is housed on a number of servers on the Internet. Basically, it maintains this database for figuring out and finding (or resolving) host names and IP addresses. This allows users to specify remote computers by host names rather than numerical IP addresses.

Host: Any computer that can function as the beginning and end point of data transfers. An Internet host has a unique Internet address (IP address) and a unique domain or host name.

InterNIC: A repository of information about the Internet. It is divided into two parts: 1) directory services, run by AT&T in New Jersey, and 2) registration services, run by Network Solutions in Virginia. It is funded partially by the National Science Foundation and partially by fees that are charged to register Internet domains.

Internet Protocol (IP) address: A numeric address that is given to servers and users connected to the Internet. For servers it is translated into a domain name by a Domain Name Server (DNS). When you get online you are assigned an IP address by your Internet Service Provider (ISP). This IP address may be the same everytime you log on (this is called a static IP) or it can change and be assigned each time you connect based on what's available.

Internet Service Provider (ISP): A company that provides access to the Internet. Before you can connect to the Internet you must first establish an account with an Internet Service Provider (ISP).

Server: A host computer on a network that answers requests for information from it. The term server is also used to refer to the software that makes the process of serving information possible.

Uniform Resource Locator (URL): Describes the location and access method of a resource on the Internet. For example, the URL http://www.netlingo.com describes the type of access method being used (http) and the server location which hosts the Web site (www.netlingo.com). All Web sites have URLs. One could say a URL is what a telephone number is to a telephone or a street address is to a house.

What is a domain name and why do I need one?
A domain name sends visitors to the numerical address where a Web page resides on the Internet. The best ones rely on a unique word, business name, or phrase to make them easier to remember: www.inc.com (for Inc. Online) or www.harvard.edu (for Harvard University).

Web surfers would have to type a long sequence of numbers to access specific sites without the domain name system. For example, would you remember where to find Amazon.com if its Web address was www.nameserver/users/557/amazon?

To whom do I apply for a domain name?
For years, all reservation and registration services for domain names have been handled exclusively by Network Solutions under an agreement with the U.S. government. That's all about to change. As of this writing (June 1999), five new companies are testing registration services: America Online, France Telecom, Melbourne IT, register.com, and CORE (Internet Council of Registrars). Register.com just became operational; the others are expected to do so in the near future.

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