The process to register a domain name is straightforward, yet it requires a solid grasp of the domain name system to fully comprehend its intricacies. A common analogy to help people grasp the concept is comparing the domain name system to a phone book for the Internet. Generally, every website includes two important components. The Internet Protocol or IP address, which is numerical and looks like 192.100.104.99 for IP version 4 or like 2001:500:90:100 for IP version 6. It is impractical for people to remember numbers to access a website. Every IP address is linked to a domain name, like Microsoft. Whenever a user types “Microsoft” into their browser, the domain name system effortlessly converts that name into its corresponding numerical IP address. This process ensures that users can easily access websites without needing to remember complex numbers.

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HOW TO REGISTER A DOMAIN NAME

  • First, choose a name that has not been registered. You can check its availability through a name registrar.
  • However, the domain name’s administrator must register and reside in Germany. It is possible to register the same name for multiple TLDs.
  • After selecting a name, you can register it for a period ranging from one year to ten years.

THE INTERNET HIERARCHICAL SYSTEM

Domain names follow a hierarchical structure, where each section separated by a dot represents a different level. An Internet resolver generally reads the URL from right to left until it reaches the hostname, which is then used to locate the IP address.

  • A string like http://www.microsoft.com is a Uniform Resource Locator or URL.
  • The extension .com is the Top Level Domain or TLD.
  • The name microsoft.com is the second-level domain.
  • The www part of the URL is the hostname.

TOP LEVEL DOMAINS

Top-Level Domains (TLDs) play a crucial role in the hierarchical Internet system, identified by extensions like .com, .org, or .us. By the end of the third quarter in 2012, users had registered over 246 million TLD names. These registrations have a yearly estimated growth rate of 12 percent. The .com extension remains the largest and most popular TLD, with 105 million registered names as of September 30, 2012. Meanwhile, the .net extension ranks second among commercial TLDs, boasting 14.9 million registered names.

COUNTRY CODE TOP LEVEL DOMAINS

Country code TLDs (ccTLDs) have reached 104.9 million registered names, growing at an estimated annual rate of 20.7 percent. By the end of the third quarter in 2012, the hierarchical system’s root included 280 ccTLD extensions. The top 10 of these extensions account for approximately 62 percent of all ccTLD registrations. Germany’s .de country code holds the largest number of registries by domain name base, ranking second only to .com in total registrations. Below is a list of some of the top ccTLDs.

1. The ccTLD .de of Germany is first as of September 30, 2012. Some speculate that the popularity of the “.de” country code stems from its meaning in Romance languages. However, the registered administrator of the domain name must reside in Germany.

2. The ccTLD .tk of Tokelau is in second place. Although this small group of New Zealand atolls has only about 1,400 residents, it has established a significant web presence. Because it offers free country code registration to anyone, many users have seized this opportunity.

3. The ccTLD .uk of the United Kingdom ranks third with over 10 million registrations. Generally, Internet users cannot register directly under “.uk.” Instead, they must register with a second-level domain name.

4. The ccTLD .cn of China is in the fourth position. In recent years, China’s rapid modernization has repeatedly pushed it ahead of Germany into the top position. Some outdated information on the Internet still incorrectly lists China as the leader. However, China remains the fastest-growing among the ccTLDs.

IP ADDRESSES

A single domain name can link to multiple IP addresses, allowing greater flexibility and redundancy. This is important to provide better service for large websites that attract a great deal of Internet traffic. Currently, 249 countries have a total of 3,483,928,889 IP addresses divided among them. From this perspective, the top five countries display a different web presence.

  1. The United States has 1,556,118,768 IP addresses.
  2. China has 329,867,591 IP addresses.
  3. Japan has 201,695,157 IP addresses.
  4. The United Kingdom has 128,575,767 IP addresses.
  5. Germany has 121,907,311 IP addresses.

DOMAIN NAME DYNAMICS

During the third quarter of 2012, the renewal rate for the top two TLDs, .com and .net, slightly declined to 72.5 percent from 72.9 percent in the second quarter. This renewal rate largely depends on whether the domain name links to an active website. Users are less likely to renew domain names that do not resolve to a website. Below are the estimated figures for domain names resolving to websites on the .com and .net TLDs.

  • 66 percent of .com and .net domain names resolve to multiple page websites.
  • 21 percent of these domain names resolve to one-page websites under construction, parked pages, or ad revenue-generating pages.
  • 13 percent of the domain names do not resolve to websites.

What’s next? Secure your domain name

Adding an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate to a website is essential for ensuring security and building trust with users. SSL encrypts data transmitted between a website and its visitors, protecting sensitive information such as login credentials, payment details, and personal data from hackers. To add SSL, website owners must purchase or obtain a free SSL certificate from a trusted certificate authority (CA) and install it on their web server. Many hosting providers offer SSL integration, making the process easier. Once installed, the website URL changes from http to https, signaling a secure connection. Additionally, search engines prioritize SSL-secured sites, improving rankings and enhancing credibility.