What is a Domain Name and How it Works?
Are you thinking of starting your own website but feeling a bit confused about what is a domain name, what is the difference between a domain name and a website, how does it work?
There is a lot to learn and think about for those new to web development and web hosting, but don’t worry!
In this article, we’ll cover what exactly a domain name is and how it works. We’ll also explain many technical terms like IP addresses and DNS so, let’s start!
What is a Domain Name?
Simply put, it is the address of your website. It’s what people type into the browser’s bar to visit your website.
The internet is a huge network of computers connected to each other by a global network of cables so that each computer can communicate with others.
But how do they identify each other?
Each computer has an IP address, which is a series of numbers that identify a particular computer. An IP address looks like this:
77.294.66.1
An IP address is difficult to remember; imagine if you had to remember each website’s IP to visit it! So, domain names were invented to solve this problem, instead of typing a long string of numbers to visit a website, you just type a domain name in your browser to visit the website.
By the way, you can purchase/register a domain through a domain registrar or a hosting provider.
How Do Domain Names work?
Let’s take a look at what happens when you type a domain name in your browser to understand how it work:
When you enter a domain name in your browser, it sends a request to a global network of servers that form the DNS . These servers lookup for something called “ the name servers” associated with the domain you entered and forward the request to those name servers.
What are these Name Servers?
For example, if your website host is HOSTILICA, then its name servers will be like this:
ns1.hostilica.net
ns2.hostilica.net
These name servers are computers managed by your hosting company, they will forward your request to the computer where your website files/data is stored.
This computer is called a web server, and it has special software installed (Apache is a popular web server software). At this moment, the server fetches the web page that you requested and sends it back to the browser.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, a domain name is simply an address of a computer that stores a particular website. By now, you know how they work and why they were invented.
If you want to go further on this topic, you can read our guide on how to choose the right domain for your business, and you can also explore more about the most popular extension “ the .COM “. Enjoy reading!
