Why Do You Need A Domain Name?

Firstly, a domain name such as YourBusiness.com, is an ADDRESS on the Internet where people from around the world can reach your web site through the Internet. People type in an URL (Uniform Resource Locator) that contains your domain name e.g. http://www.yourbusiness.com on their web browser's address bar, or click a link that contains your URL from a web page, and within seconds, like magic, your web site appears nicely on their computer screen. So obviously, nobody will be able to come to your web site if your pages only sit on your computer in your office without a domain name.

Secondly, a domain name is your IDENTITY and your BRAND where people can remember you and your business. Therefore when you choose your domain name make sure that you pick a name that reflects your business (or organization) and at the same time ensure it is not too lengthy and people will remember your domain name very easily.

.COM The Most Popular Domain Extension

Without doubt .com is the most desirable top-level domain (TLD) name extension (suffix). This TLD along with several other, are called generic top-level domains (gTLD), meaning that these domains are open to the general public for registration, with certain category of organizations or purposes. Over the years as the web evolves and with the addition of other top- level domain extensions, the initial usage restriction of some top-level domains was gradually loosened. Today, practically everybody is free to register any .com, .net, .or, .info, and .biz,domain names for any purpose.

Below is a list of all gTLDs and its initial purposes currently in existence :

.com for commercial organizations, but unrestricted
.net originally for network infrastructures, now unrestricted
.org originally for organizations not clearly falling within the other gTLDs, now unrestricted
.info for informational sites, but unrestricted
.biz for business use
.aero for the air transport industry
.asia for companies, organisations and individuals in the Asia-Pacific region
.cat for Catalan language/culture
.coop for cooperatives
.edu for post-secondary educational establishments
.gov for governments and their agencies in the United States
.int for international organizations established by treaty
.job for employment-related sites
.mil for the US military
.mobi for sites catering to mobile devices
.museum for museums
.name for families and individuals
.pro for certain professions
.tel for services involving connections between the telephone network and the Internet (added March 2, 2007)
.travel for travel agents, airlines, hoteliers, tourism bureaus, etc.

Country Code Top-level Domain (ccTLD)

A country code top-level domain (ccTLD) or sometimes called country domain, is an Internet top-level domain generally used or reserved for a country or a dependent territory. Although each ccTLD uses a specific country id or acronym (.us for United States; .uk for United Kingdom, for example) however many ccTLDs that have suffices coincide with popular acronyms, for instance .tv which was originally reserved for Tuvalu country, are also officially available for foreign registration and widely used by TV broadcasting companies.

Full list of Country Domains (ccTLDs)