How important can an top domain name be?

One of the most important requirements for setting up a successful Internet presence is the domain name. It is what people will spot first when they chance upon your web page and what they will identify you with. The domain should be easy to remember, but should also be something that informs your website's visitors what the site is about.

Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs)

A domain usually consists of 2 constituents - a Top-Level Domain (TLD) and a Second-Level Domain Name (SLD). If you have domain.com, for instance, ".com" is the TLD and "domain" is the Second-Level Domain Name. There are a couple of sets of Top-Level Domain Names that you should consider before you choose the domain you want. Your pick should rest on the purpose of your web site and on its target visitors. Let's review the gTLDs, or generic Top-Level Domain Names - these are the most widespread TLDs intended to denote a particular purpose - .com (business organizations), .net (network infrastructures), .biz (companies), .info (informational sites), .org (not-for-profit organizations), .mobi (mobile devices), .asia (the Asia-Pacific), .name (individuals or relatives), .pro (certain walks of life), etc. As you can see, these Top-Level Domain Names cover most spheres of life, so you should pick the one that would designate the aim of your site best. There is no limitation as to who can register such Top-Level Domain Names, but some of them include additional requirements to confirm that you are eligible to register such a Top-Level Domain Name (.mobi and .pro, for instance).

Country-code Top-Level Domain Names (ccTLDs)

The ccTLDs, or country-code TLDs, are country-specific Top-Level Domains. Each country has its own ccTLD. Opting for such a domain name is good if your target group of website visitors is from a certain country. Many folks would sooner purchase commodities or services from a local web site, and if your target is Canada, for example, getting a .ca domain could boost the visits to your site.

URL Redirection

You can register several TLDs, which can send your site's visitors to a given site such as domain.com, for instance. This would raise the traffic and reduce the probability of someone stealing your visitors by registering the same Second-Level Domain with a different Top-Level Domain - if you are not availing of a trademark.

Name Servers (NSs)

Every Top-Level Domain has domain name records. The name server records (NS records, aka DNS records) disclose where the domain is hosted, i.e. they point to the hosting vendor whose name servers (NSs, also known as DNSs) it is utilizing at present. You can alter the NSs of your domain whenever you want. You can have your domain name registered with one provider and get the hosting service itself from another. Hence, if you register your domain name and stumble upon good website hosting services someplace else afterwards, you can point your domain to the new company's DNSs straight off.

Domain Name Server Records (NS Records)

On the whole, as long as your domain uses a given set of name servers, all its NS records will lead to the same hosting company. Some site hosting distributors, however, permit you to modify certain domain records, among them the A records and the MX records of your domain name. The A record is an IP address, which specifies on which server your web site is hosted, whereas the MX records demonstrate which web hosting server handles the e-mail address accounts associated with your domain name. For instance, if you hire a new web page designer and he constructs an .ASP website that will be accommodated on his private Windows web hosting server, you may desire to alter solely the Internet Protocol address (the A record) but not the MX records of your domain name. So, www.domain.com will direct to the Windows web server, but your email accounts or any sub-domain names such as forum.domain.com or shop.domain.com will still be in your current Linux web page hosting account. The .ASP environment is invented by Microsoft and necessitates a Windows web hosting server, although a Linux server would be way more stable.

Affordable Domain Names Furnished by 'Exclusive Hosting'

Just a few web hosting vendors permit you to modify given name server records and very often this an additional paid service. With Exclusive Hosting , you have a wide collection of TLDs to pick from and you can modify all DNS records or forward the domains via a forwarding tool at no extra charge. Because of that, 'Exclusive Hosting' would be your best choice when it comes to handling your domain name and to establishing a successful presence on the World Wide Web.