Domain Name – Beyond

Category: Website > Domain Name

A domain points to a unique location on the web.

Broadly speaking, domain names are human-readable unique identification sequences that are associated with a computer-meaningful IP address. They are critical for the functioning of the World Wide Web in that they act similarly to street addresses; hence their inclusion in the URL (the address you type into your browser to view a particular website). Actually, a domain name covers additional services as well, such as having an email address that ends in @yourdomainname.com. If you want to understand the basics, or even delve into this topic, you came to the right place.

Given their primary purpose, every domain name has to be unique – this uniqueness being enforced by regulatory agencies. That is why, to register your desired domain name, you will have to use the services of an accredited company, namely a registrar. Now, hosting providers often gives you the possibility to register your domain name (in addition to purchasing a hosting account). However, registering domains and web hosting are completely separate functions. As explained in self-hosting: a hard egg to crack, there is no requirement to keep both services in the same place, quite the opposite.

Now, aside from playing the aforementioned roles, a domain name is part of your branding. In that respect, choosing a good domain name is probably the most important decision when creating a website. A domain name is your identity. Your decision will have an ongoing impact on the value of your site; therefore, a little planning and forethought are necessary to pick the perfect one. You might want to consider checking some recommendations on that matter. You can also find additional tips from my own brainstorming. Last, but not least, making sure that this valuable asset remains yours is just as important as choosing the domain name itself. Check out the posts below to learn more…

April 7, 2022April 4, 2022

Gandi and credit card expiration

I have configured my Gandi account to benefit from automatic top-ups via my credit card if my prepaid account is no longer sufficient to honor my invoices. But what if my credit card expires?

February 13, 2020February 10, 2020

Gandi Automatic renewal – emendation

A year ago, I learned the hard way that the Automatic renewal feature and the Automatic payment go hand in hand. Having configured both properly since, I could now check how Gandi handles the renewal of my domain name.

September 19, 2019May 20, 2021

Gandi Automatic payment

Your domain name matters, right? Therefore, to make sure it remains yours, you chose a reliable, reputable registrar. You also applied all the domain security practices you could think of. You even opted for an auto-renewal service not to worry about renewal notifications. Yet, a little oversight can cost you your domain name…

September 12, 2019February 3, 2020

Gandi Automatic renewal

Your domain name is a valuable asset. The good news is that there are many measures to make sure it remains yours, the first one being: DO NOT LET IT EXPIRE! Auto-renewal is a great safeguard for that matter unless...

July 4, 2019December 20, 2019

Domain Transfer – Should I?

I have already addressed the pros and cons of keeping domain name registration and web hosting separate. Why bringing the issue back? What did prompt me to write this post?

February 28, 2019December 19, 2019

To www or not to www?

Which between the www and non-www versions of the URL is best? How to implement your decision using WordPress? Can you guess which one I have chosen?

February 7, 2019December 19, 2019

48 hours!

How to know if I have successfully pointed my domain name to my website while keeping my e-mails at my registrar? Before anything, I had to wait for DNS propagation. How long does it take?

January 31, 2019May 19, 2021

Pointing my domain name to my website

Pointing your domain name to your web hosting is a straightforward procedure. However, imagine you want to keep your e-mail with your registrar. This apparent simple configuration brings an all-new level of complexity. Is there any way to resolve such a configuration?

January 10, 2019December 19, 2019

Registering my domain name

The registration process on itself is straightforward. Using Gandi.net as my registrar, I didn’t encounter any troubles whatsoever. Anyway, here is how it went – plus some little extras.

December 13, 2018December 19, 2019

Gandi.net

Finding the perfect domain name registrar for your needs is no easy task. Nothing daunted, I sort through hundreds of companies. This is not a review about gandi.net, but an explanation for my choice.