What is in a Domain Name?
There are four parts to every domain:
| http://www.example.co.za This prefix indicates what kind of protocol your browser needs to communicate in to interact with the information on your domain. HTTP stands for hypertext transfer protocol is the most common protocol for Internet Websites although there are others such as HTTPS and FTP. |
http://www.example.co.za The “www” indicates that your domain is part of the World Wide Web. (However, when you use our services you can also access your domain by going directly to http://newnet.co.za). |
| http://www.example.co.za This is the domain name we selected and acts as our virtual address. It can be the name of your business, your surname. Plainly put, this name links to your business. |
http://www.example.co.za The domain extension indicates either what type of organisation your website represents OR where your website is located in the world. So for example, a .ORG domain will tell a user that the website is an organisation, while a .NET will indicate that the website is a network. .CO.ZA is the domain extension that will indication that a website is hosted in South Africa. |
Choosing a Domain Name…
Think of a domain name that you would like to register. Take the following into account before deciding upon a name:
- Think of a few names that you would like to register and rank them. It’s likely that your first couple of choices will already have been taken, so it’s worth while using a couple of options and combinations.
- A domain name should be as short as possible. The shorter it is, the easier it is to remember.
- A domain name should relate to whatever material will appear on your website / online system.
- A domain name should be as intuitive as possible. So don’t use strange combinations of letters, words and numbers.
- Decide on a domain extension which will either indicate in which country your website is located (for example, South Africa: co.za) or what kind of entity your domain represents (for example, Organisation: .org or Company: .com).
- Once you have decided on a few names, see if your domain is available now through the Newnet Domain Availability Checker.
Domain Name Facts:
- No two domains can be the same unless the extension is different (as in www.example.co.za and www.example.com)
- You can register as many domains as you like.
- Once you have registered a domain, it belongs to you and cannot be used by anyone else (BUT, only as long as the account is maintained and kept up-to-date from year to year).
- To use your domain, the domain must be hosted at Newnet or your current ISP.
- If you do not update your account or pay future registration fees, you may loose your domain or someone else might purchase it!
