Tel: 0113 2170419
www.littlefishwebdesign.com
Web addresses explained
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Web addresses, also commonly known as URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) or less commonly domain names, provide a unique, convenient and memorable way to access a particular website. But what do all the parts of the address mean?
Although you can for example type "littlefishwebdesign.com" into your address bar and the LittleFish Web Design page will appear, technically the full address is "http://www.littlefishwebdesign.com" and this is what we'll look at:
http: - this stands for "hypertext transfer protocol" and is the language or method that your internet browser must use to access the webpage in question. You don't have to type this into your address bar - if it is missing, your browser will assume this is the protocol to use.
// - this separates the access method from the address
www - this means 'world wide web' and helps to distinguish the address from other non-internet addresses e.g. a company intranet. It can also be used for a sub-domain e.g. orders.domainname.com.
littlefishwebdesign - this is known as the 'second level' domain and when combined with the next part of the address, make up the unique identifier which allows you to arrive at the correct web page.
com - this is the top level domain (TLD) and there are many different ones to choose from. Different rules apply to each TLD as they are regulated by different organisations.
. - the 'dot' inbetween different parts of the address signify the end of that part.
When you buy a web address, you are really exclusively renting it for the period stated. For addresses ending in UK, you can only have it for two years at a time. Other domains such as COM, NET and ORG can be held for multiples of a year or more. And you can always release the domain back into the system early if you choose you don't want it any more.
If you want to purchase a web address you will need to find a domain registrar. We recommend 1&1 for domains ending in UK (£4.68 inc. VAT for two years) and GoDaddy for other domains (from $5.99 per year) - both companies are reliable and have very competitive prices. For full prices see the LittleFish Domain Name Comparison.
