What is an Internet domain?

We explain what a domain on the Internet is, the types there are and how it is composed. Also, how it works and some examples.

1. What is an Internet domain?

The unique name with which a Web page or a Web site is identified , within the vast sea of ​​the Network, is known as the Internet domain.

Since the Internet pages , as well as all the network information , are really not in cyberspace but on a real server somewhere in the world, the system has a series of IP addresses to locate where you should look for what data . But since such addresses are difficult to memorize, we use a domain name (and a name system, such as DNS) to replace those addresses.

So, if you do not use this method of substitutions, to access portals as famous as the Google online search engine, you should enter the IP address http://172.217.10.110/ instead of simply typing http://google.com, Your domain name On the other hand, the same IP address can be shared between several domains , so it would be an inaccurate location method.

Domain names often reflect the nature of the site to visit and are often customizable, marketable or private . In addition, they consist of a series of abbreviations that often reveal information about the Web page you are trying to enter, such as your country, your affiliation, etc.

There are, thus, two types of Internet domain:

• Top Level Territorial Domains ( ccTLD ) . Those who distinguish between countries where the information is located or to whom the website belongs. For example: those ending in .ve (Venezuela), .ar (Argentina) or .cl (Chile).
• Generic First Level Domains ( gTLD ) . These are commercial generic domains, which can be bought and sold without national implications of any kind, such as .com, .net, .org.

2. How do you compose a domain on the Internet?

Internet domains can be alphanumeric, that is, composed of letters and numbers, in a specific and specific sequence. This name can be divided into:

• Organization name . The specific name of the company , person or organization of any type we are looking for, such as Google .
• Type of organization . You can distinguish between commercial (.com), telecommunications (.net  network ), organizational (.org), government (.gob), etc. pages.

3. URL address and domain name

The domain name is not the same as the URL that appears in our browser when we enter a website. The domain name is the “title” of the visited page or service (for example, http://google.com), while the URL (acronym for  Uniform Resource Locator , that is, Uniform Resource Locator ) is the entry that we must provide to the browser to take us to the appropriate domain (for example: http://www.google.com). In the example provided they are very similar, but it may be the case that they are radically different.  

4. How does a domain on the Internet work?

The domains operate as soon as an Internet user enters the URL corresponding to the domain of the desired page in their browser .

Instead of entering the IP number, enter a sequence of letters, for example, http://www.google.com and your browser will link that name with the digital path to the information , contained in a web server or several.

Thus, a series of search instructions and request for information is initiated with a simple phrase that in a few seconds presents the desired Web Page to the user . These domains are contained in a kind of indexes, called DNS, that allow to speed up the process .

5. Internet domain examples

Some examples of specific domains on the Internet are the following:

• .net  for networks and telecommunications (network).
• . com  for commercial initiatives.
• . info  for informational or dissemination networks
• . edu  for educational portals
• .tv  for portals that have to do with television .
• .es  for sites linked to Spain.
• . br  for sites linked to Brazil.
• .mx  for sites linked to Mexico.
• . php  for dynamic content using hypertext preprocessor.