How to Understand and Use Website Domains

Website domains names are what makes a website legible - for example, it is what makes www.ehow.com a website instead of you having to type in a range of numbers and dots to figure out a website (called an IP address, for example: 123.333.444.555). What is interesting about website domains are that they are unique and are managed by the Domain Name System, a major repository for all website domains in the world. So how do you decipher a website domain?

1.Look at the domain name extension, those are the last "." In the website, for example www.ehow.com has the extension ".com". The three most common extensions are .com, .net and .org. The next common domains extensions are those in countries, for example .uk for the United Kingdom.

2.Look up the domain, with websites like: http://www.networksolutions.com/whois/index.jsp, where you can enter the entire website name and figure out who owns the domain, down to the owner's name and address. For example, ehow.com is ran from Seattle, WA - how cool is that?

3.If you are planning on creating your own website you must understand domain names and the information that they provide. Think about what extension you want and what it will mean - for example, if you plan on opening a non-profit website you should probably opt for a .org extension.