Web Technology 101 - SpartanSoft

One of the decisions you will need to make when deciding you want a website is what domain name you would like to purchase.  I have to say this can be a  frustrating process due to the lack of preferred domain names.  In this post I will first go into the details of what a domain name is and then provide the steps involved with selecting one.

A domain name as para-phrased from Wikipedia is “a name that is entered into a computer (e.g. as part of a Web site or other URL, or an e-mail address) and then looked up in the global Domain Name System which informs the computer of the IP address(es) with that name…Domain names are hostnames that provide more memorable names to stand in for numeric IP addresses. They allow for any service to move to a different location in the topology of the Internet (or another Internet), which would then have a different IP address.”

I will do my best to explain in laymen’s terms what a domain name is.  As mentioned above a Domain name is an easy to remember ‘alias” for an IP address.  An IP address is a unique identifier for an end point on a web server or web site.  Domain names are made up of text followed by an extension.  For example, spartansoft.net is a domain name where .net is the extension.  Many extensions are currently supported such as (.com, .net, .org, .edu, etc.) 

Based upon availability you must select the extension that works best for you.  I would have preferred a .com extension for my domain name but that was not available so I purchase Spartansoft.net.  Extensions are usually categorized by the type of site as well, for example .edu sites are used for universities.  .Com stands for Commercial while .Net stands for Network and was initially used by companies specialized in networking but is now not restricted to those types of companies.  .Net extensions seem to be the preferred extension if .com is not available for your entity.

So the first step is to come up with a list of domain names you would prefer for your company.  For SpartanSoft.net I made a list in order of preference.  1) SpartanSoft.com, 2) SS.com, 3) SpartanConsulting.com 4)SpartanSoft.net.  At the time I was purchasing my domain only my forth choice was available.  You can check the availability of a domain name by following this link Check Domain name availablity .  If your preferred domain is not available the next step may be to access the site using your web browser to see if the owner has actually created a website with the given domain name.  If you receive an error or an “under construction” page you may contact the owner and ask if the domain name can be purchased and ultimately transferred to you.

If you preferred domain name is available you should purchase it immediately (its extremely inexpensive, usually between $10-$35 for two years) so it becomes unavailable to other potential web site owners.

Lastly, I would like to explain the difference between a URL and a domain name.  As discussed above spartansoft.net is a domain name.  A URL includes the protocol or http:// and what needs to be typed in your browser to access a website as follows http://www.spartansoft.net

I wish you luck in your pursuit for your domain name and if you have any questions or need help in aquiring a domain please email me at cpond@spartansoft.net.