What is a Domain Name?
Well, a Domain Name is a string of text that uniquely identifies a particular website. Just think of google.com, amazon.com. tayit.co.uk etc. These Domain Names are easily remembered names that you can associate with the correct website. How does this work?
The IP Address
Generally speaking, all websites are stored on computers (Servers) connected to the Internet. These devices are assigned an IP address in order to identify and manage their connection to the Internet. (The IP addresses are also used for each and every device (node) that connect to a network such as computers, routers, mobile devices etc)
These IP addresses (for IPv4) consist of 4 sets of numbers (Octets -values between 0 and 255) separate by a dot, such as 82.123.45.6. With millions of websites on the internet, the IP addresses are easy forgotten, so a system called the Domain Name System (DNS) was invented.
The IP address can now be linked to a more memorable name such as google.com. The user would type google.com into the web browser instead of having to remember and type in the IP address. DNS servers all over the world hold indices or catalogues of IP addresses and their associated “easy to remember” domain names.
How to purchase a Domain Name
Domain names can be purchased from authorised outlets and directed to a hosting server IP address where the website files reside. So, simply put, the domain name, for instance tayit.co.uk, will be directed to the server IP address where the website files are hosted in order for it to display within the browser when called. The domain name will be linked to the IP address in all the DNS servers worldwide.
Register a Domain Name at Tay IT
Here at Tay IT in Perth, Scotland we can arrange to register your Domain Name and hosting on secure servers with unlimited Email, SSD Storage and Bandwidth.