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FAQ
: Web Site Addresses (a.k.a. Domain Names)
What
is a Domain Name?
A
domain name is the name that is assigned to your web
site. Technically, it is part of the word address of
a web server. The typical domain name is simple, memorable,
and is the format of http://www.klbwebsolutions.com.
It is the same name that you would type into the URL
of a browser window, and it indicates where the web
page is stored on the Internet.
The
breakdown of the parts of the domain name URL are the
following:
http://
-- Short for Hypertext Transfer Protocol, this indicates
a hypertext document or directory.
www.
-- This indicates a page on the World Wide Web. (Sometimes
"www" is missing.)
klbwebsolutions.com/
-- this is the actual "domain name", it
often tells you the name of a company, university,
or organization. It can also tell you the country
of origin.
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Now
I know what a domain name is, and I want to go to a
particular site. What do I do to access it?
You
would go to your browser and type the domain name into
the address field and click Enter. The browser would
identify that URL and retrieve the web page to show
in your browser.
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Do
I have to have a domain name to have a web site?
No,
you don't. Free hosting sites such as Yahoo Geocities
will allow you to build a web site but you do not have
to own a domain name. This type of free web space is
used a lot on personal home pages, and the only requirement
is that advertising will display on your site.
Also,
some hosting companies will offer third level domains.
These URLs are in the format http://www.hostingcompany.com/yourname
or http://www.yourname.hostingcompany.com. However,
for a business web presence it is more important to
have your own domain name. It is much easier for people
to remember your URL if you have your own domain name,
it portrays a more professional image of your product
or service, and it allows people to find your site more
easily on the Internet.
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Is
it easy to register a domain name?
It
is really very simple. There are many registrars available
to reserve the domain name. After checking to see if
the name is available, you use a series of on-line forms
to save your contact and billing information. Your registrar
will send you information then on how to access your
account, which you will need to do when you complete
your site and set it up to be hosted. For more details,
see the hosting FAQ.
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If
I have a great idea for a domain name but my site is
not complete, can I still register the domain?
Yes
you can! You do not need to wait, you can register the
domain as soon as you want to. There is an advantage
to this - then the name becomes reserved and no one
else can reserve it. Most registrars will allow you
to purchase the domain but then leave it "parked"
on their servers until your site is ready.
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What
do you mean by "domain parking"?
Parked
domain names are domain names that do not point to any
web space of their own. Domain parking lets you cheaply
reserve a domain name for future use and display an
"under construction" default page on it. You
can register a domain and park it but then your site
will be simply inaccessible until you get a web host.
Some registrars will let you park your domain for free;
others will charge a small fee for parking.
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What
if I have a domain name, and I have a web site for that
domain. Now I want to have a different domain name but
have it go to the same place. Can I do this?
Yes,
you can. This is called "domain redirection",
and it is similar to domain parking in that it also
doesn't use any web space. But unlike the parked domains,
it does go somewhere -- it is "forwarded"
to another web site. Many domain registrars will allow
you to register a domain name and then have the domain
forward to an existing web site.
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