Domain name dictionary

Domain names 101

Here you will find the most commonly used domain name terms (jargon) explained.

C

Cybersquatting – This can mean more than one thing. Cybersquatting is often referred to as the process of buying a domain name with the intent of denying another person from owning and using it.

For example:

• Stealing traffic

• Block user

• Sell to another party for an inflated price

However, it can also be referred to as a domain investor that buys a domain to hold for a few years until that domain becomes more valuable over time.

D

Domain Country-code – This is a domain extension that is assigned to a country.

For example:

.de is for Germany, .co.uk and .uk are for the United Kingdom.

Domain name – The name of a website URL, www.nameofwebsite.com for example.

Domain Flipping – Domain investors and traders often buy a domain name purely to sell on for a profit. Flipping is often done fast to free up cash to buy another domain name to sell weeks later.

Domain Privacy – You can buy a domain name and set it to private so no one knows who owns a particular domain. This is a particularly popular option for political, gambling, offshore, banking, crypto and adult domains.

DNS (Domain name servers) – DNS is similar to an internet phone book. The DNS’s main function is to translate domain names into IP Addresses.

Domain Extension – The last letters of a domain name.

For example:

.com, .net, .io are all extensions.

Domain forwarding – This is similar to call forwarding. You can redirect (forward) a domain name to any website address you wish.

Domain Leasing – You can lease a domain name for a specified period of time and often with an option to buy later on.

Domain Migration – This is the term used for when you move one domain from its hosting site to another new hosting site.

Domain Option – You can use a domain name if the owner agrees and also sign an option agreement to purchase a domain within a specified period of time and for a specified price.

Domain Parking – This can be very profitable.

You can point a domain name to a specific page and receive an income for doing so. You might park a domain name you wish to sell in the future and it can be used in the mean time to direct traffic to another site and you get paid to allow this.

Domain Redirect – You can re-direct traffic from a website to another website.

Domain Registrant – The registered owner of a domain name.

Domain Registrar – An accredited domain name registration company.

Domain Renewal – The process of re-registering a domain name. Renewals can be for one more year or you can extend for a longer period of time.

Domain registrar-lock – As the owner of a domain name you can add an extra level of protection to stop hackers stealing your domain name and transferring it without your permission. You can lock your domain with the company that holds your domain name and we recommend you do so.

Domain transfer – This is the process of moving one domain name from a registrar to a new registrar.

Domain transfer hosting – Transfer hosting is different from domain transfer above. Your domain remains with your register, but your website moves to a new hosting company.

G

Grace period – When a domain name registration period expires there is a grace period allowed for the owner to renew their domain name before it is put up for sale to other people.

I

IP (Internet Protocol) Address – This is a unique set of numbers used to label a specific computer to a specific location.

This is how the authorities often hunt down cyber criminals as an IP address is literally the same as your house address.

You can hide your IP address using a VPN service, you can see our VPN list here.

ICANN – The international corporation for assigned names and numbers (ICANN) is the organisation that organises, regulates and coordinates the internet’s naming industry.

M

Misspelled domain names – Many big businesses buy domain names spelt incorrectly to secure their own brand and also send traffic to their main website. People often type in an incorrect domain name spelling.

P

Premium domain – A high value domain name. Usually ending in the extension .com and one or two word domain names.

R

Redemption period – After a domain name registration expires, and the grace period has expired, a domain name owner can sometimes have an extended period to buy their domain back at a slightly elevated price.

Reverse domain hijacking – Some unscrupulous people try to steal a domain name from the legitimate owner by using false claims to contest its ownership.

S

Subdomain (2LD) – A subdomain is an additional part to a domain name. Subdomains are used to organise and navigate to different pages and parts of a website.

For example:

If you have a store on your website then the link to the store would be a subdomain.

T

Top Level Domain (TDL) – These are usually domains that end with .com, but TDL’s also include .net, .org and in the future we expect others to be added.

W

Whois – A system that allows someone to find out information about a domain name. For example, the contact detail and also the name of the domain owner.

Website – Owning a domain name does not mean that you also have a website. A domain is simply the name of a website.

A website is a collection of web pages and content that is published on at least one web server.

Web page – A web page is a singular page on a website.

Web server – A web server is a computer that runs websites. It is a computer program that distributes web pages. A web servers job is to store, process and deliver web pages.

Microsoft, IBM and Google all own web servers.

We hope you found our website and marketing dictionary useful.

Please share this link to a friend that will also find this useful.

We offer Web design and marketing services at a very competitive rate. Please visit our services section of the website for more information.

Web design, SEO marketing, Hosting

We look forward to working with you and helping your business grow.