What is a Domain Name?
A domain name is the web site address minus the www.
Img 1. The domain name is the bit after the www.
| Examples | Domain Name |
|---|---|
| www.webmentor.ie | webmentor.ie |
| http://www.webmentor.ie | webmentor.ie |
| http://webmentor.ie | webmentor.ie |
| en.wikipedia.org | wikipedia.org |
| http://de.wikipedia.org/domain/name.php | wikipedia.org |
If you want to get a website
You will need to register a domain name.
- Registering a domain name is the first step to getting a website. You will be required to register it without the www.
- Once your domain name is registered, your website will normally be accessible as both http://www.yourdomain.com AND http://yourdomain.com. You should choose only ONE of these to prevent canonicalisation issues. (See note 1 below)
- Once you have registered and paid for your domain name don't forget that you must renew this on an annual basis! Sometimes you will get a cheaper option to pay upfront for 2-10 years ahead.
- You cannot register an identical domain name if it already exists. For instance webmentor.ie is not the same as webmentor.eu or webmentor.com - they would require 2 more separate domain name registrations.
Note 1: Should your website address include the www. or not?
Since both are normally active when you first register a domain name, it's a good practice to adopt one or the other for your official website address. It's also better for SEO. So tell your developer which you'd prefer and stick to it. If you don't have a developer, then ask your web host to do this for you - any good web host will be happy to oblige you. There is no right or wrong decision in choosing your website address with or without the www. It makes for a lively discussion - but neither point of view is right or wrong.
Twitter works without the www as in http://twitter.com, google works with the www. as in http://www.google.ie - it's just a matter of preference. You'll know the change has been made correctly because if you type in the wrong one it will automatically revert to the right one (try typing http://www.twitter.com - you'll see it changes immediately to http://twitter.com). Try this with your own website - and make sure only ONE version works!
If you'd like more technical info on canonicalisation (multiple addresses leading to the same web page), and whether or not to use the www. - read what Matt Cutts of Google has to say: http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/seo-advice-url-canonicalization/