Domains

On the internet, every website and online shop is accessible via a so-called IP address, which consists of a longer combination of numbers and is difficult for most users to remember. A domain is the name of a website, specifically the URL of the homepage through which it can be reached. In an example, this would look as follows: www.examplepage.de. "examplepage.de" would be the domain name. This example can be used to explain how domains are structured, as they follow a regulated principle. All domains, regardless of the country, industry, or purpose for which they were registered, consist of three components: the third-level domain (also known as the subdomain), the second-level domain, and the top-level domain (TLD). The subdomain specifically refers to the "www," which has established itself as a standard indication when accessing a page on the World Wide Web. Strictly speaking, there are several other subdomains. This becomes evident when accessing a mail server or an FTP server. Instead of "www," "mail." or "ftp." will appear in the URL, resulting in combinations like: https://mail.provider.de. The second-level domain is the website name in the URL.

The ending ".de" describes the third-level domain and in this case also the country of origin. Domains with the TLD ".com" are often regarded as websites from the American region. Strictly speaking, however, the ending denotes a website with a commercial background (Company/Commercial). Domains with ".net" and ".org" are attributed to networks or non-commercial organizations and associations. The internet user can recognize not only the country of origin but also the orientation of the website based on domains.

Why register a web domain for the site at all?

This leads to the reason for the introduction of domain names: people can remember IP addresses less easily than words and word combinations. At the same time, domains create trust and authenticity the moment they appear in search engine results pages (SERPs) like Google. Users cannot recognize content, offers, and services behind a combination of numbers; a domain name provides more clarity. From a purely technical perspective, a domain is not necessary to reach a website.

The names are only assigned once, or can only be registered as a unique combination. Therefore, there is no possibility for two different offers to be found under one URL. The domains are "managed" by so-called Network Information Centers, where a webpage is registered to a registrant. Guidelines dictate what special features the name of a webpage may or may not have. Excluded are, for example, capital letters, special characters (like !, %, #) or letters (like ä, ö, ü, à). However, this varies from provider to provider.

Buy domain

Anyone launching their own website should, of course, always check if the desired domain names are still available. If it is, they can purchase the name. It is important to turn to a reputable provider for the purchase. Usually, a domain is available for a low monthly price.