How valuable can an affordable domain name be?
One of the most essential preconditions for establishing a successful online presence is the domain. It is what people will spot first when they visit your site and what they will link you with. The domain should be easy to memorize, but should also be something that notifies your web site's visitors what the web page is about.
Generic Top-Level Domain Names (gTLDs)
A domain name traditionally consists of 2 fragments - a Top-Level Domain Name (TLD) and a Second-Level Domain Name (SLD). If you have domain.com, for instance, ".com" is the Top-Level Domain Name and "domain" is the Second-Level Domain. There are several sets of TLDs that you should consider before you choose the domain name you desire. Your choice should be based on the aim of your website and on its target viewers. Let's scrutinize the gTLDs, or generic Top-Level Domains - these are the most widespread TLDs aimed to denote a given intention - .com (business establishments), .net (network infrastructures), .biz (companies), .info (informational sites), .org (organizations), .mobi (mobile devices), .asia (the Asia Pacific region), .name (persons or families), .pro (given walks of life), and so on. As you can see, these Top-Level Domain Names encompass most realms of life, so you should go for the one that would describe the objective of your website best. There is no limitation as to who can register such Top-Level Domain Names, but some of them contain extra requirements to prove that you qualify to keep such a domain name (.mobi and .pro, for instance).
Country-code Top-Level Domains (ccTLDs)
The ccTLDs, or country-code Top-Level Domain Names, are country-specific Top-Level Domains. Each country has its own ccTLD. Selecting such a TLD is good if your target group of website visitors is from a particular country. Many visitors would like to buy commodities or services from a local web site, and if your target is Canada, for example, getting a .ca domain could increase the visits to your web site.
URL Redirects
You can register a number of TLDs, which can send your site's visitors to a specific website like domain.com, for example. This would raise the traffic and decrease the possibility of someone swiping your web site visitors by using the same SLD with another Top-Level Domain Name - if you are not using a trademark.
Name Servers (NSs)
Each domain has domain name records. The name server records (NS records, aka DNS records) exhibit where the domain name is hosted, in other words they point to the hosting company whose name servers (NSs, a.k.a. DNSs) it is utilizing now. You can alter the name servers of your domain whenever you like. You can have your domain registered with one provider and get the web site hosting service itself from another. Hence, if you register your domain and encounter decent website hosting plans somewhere else afterwards, you can point your domain name to the present company's NSs straight off.
Domain Name Server Records (NS Records)
In general, as long as your domain name uses a given set of NSs, all its DNS records will lead to the same web site hosting company. Some web page hosting distributors, however, permit you to edit given NS records, such as the A records and the MX records of your domain. The A record is an Internet Protocol address, which reveals on which server your web site is located, while the MX records show which server handles the e-mail addresses related to your domain name. For instance, if you engage a new web site designer and he develops an .ASP web site that will be situated on his private Windows web server, you may wish to change solely the Internet Protocol address (the A record) but not the MX records of your domain. Hence, www.domain.com will direct to the Windows hosting server, but your email mailbox accounts or any sub-domain names like forum.domain.com or shop.domain.com will still be in your present Linux site hosting account. The .ASP environment is invented by Microsoft and demands a Windows hosting server, although a Linux server would be way more secure.
Low-Priced TLDs Courtesy of 'ForUpTime.com'
Just a few web hosting companies permit you to edit specific DNS records and very frequently this an extra paid service. With ForUpTime.com , you get a vast array of TLDs to pick from and you can edit all domain name records or redirect the domains through a redirection tool at no additional cost. For that reason, 'ForUpTime.com' would be your best choice when it comes to administering your domain and to building a successful presence on the web.