How valuable can an top domain name be?
One of the most important prerequisites for building a successful Internet presence is the domain. It is what people will perceive first when they chance upon your web page and what they will relate you with. The domain name should be easy to remember, but should also be something that tells your visitors what the web page is about.
Generic Top-Level Domain Names (gTLDs)
A domain typically is composed of 2 components - a Top-Level Domain Name (TLD) and a Second-Level Domain Name (SLD). If you have domain.com, for instance, ".com" is the Top-Level Domain Name and "domain" is the Second-Level Domain. There are a couple of categories of Top-Level Domain Names that you should examine prior to selecting the domain name you wish. Your decision should be based on the purpose of your site and on its target spectators. Let's take a peek at the gTLDs, or generic Top-Level Domain Names - these are the most widespread Top-Level Domains meant to indicate a given purpose - .com (commercial entities), .net (networks), .biz (companies), .info (informative web pages), .org (organizations), .mobi (handheld devices), .asia (the Asia Pacific region), .name (persons or relatives), .pro (particular walks of life), and so on. As you can see, these Top-Level Domains cover most spheres of life, so you should pick the one that would explain the aim of your web page best. There is no limitation as to who can register such domain names, but some of them include additional requirements to show that you qualify to keep such a Top-Level Domain Name (.mobi and .pro, for example).
Country-code Top-Level Domains (ccTLDs)
The ccTLDs, or country-code Top-Level Domains, are country-specific Top-Level Domains. Each country has its own ccTLD. Selecting such a Top-Level Domain Name is good if your target group of website visitors is from a specific country. Many individuals would like to buy commodities or services from a local web site, and if your aim is Canada, for example, selecting a .ca domain name could boost the visits to your web page.
URL Forwarding
You can register several domain names, which can redirect your visitors to a specific website like domain.com, for instance. This would raise the traffic and lower the likelihood of somebody stealing your site visitors by registering the same name with a different Top-Level Domain Name - if you are not utilizing a trademark.
Name Servers (NSs)
Each Top-Level Domain has domain name records. The name server records (NS records, also known as DNS records) exhibit where the domain name is hosted, in other words they point to the web hosting vendor whose name servers (NSs, a.k.a. DNSs) it is utilizing at the moment. You can switch the name servers of your domain whenever you like. You can have your domain registered with one provider and get the web hosting service itself from another. So, if you register your domain and stumble upon good website hosting services somewhere else later, you can point your domain to the current company's name servers instantaneously.
Name Server Records (NS Records)
On the whole, as long as your domain uses a specific set of NSs, all its records will direct to the same webspace hosting distributor. Some web hosting vendors, however, enable you to modify specific records, including the A records and the MX records of your domain name. The A record is an Internet Protocol address, which discloses on which web hosting server your website is hosted, while the MX records show which hosting server tackles the email address accounts associated with your domain name. For example, if you take on a new web site designer and he designs an .ASP website that will be located on his private Windows web hosting server, you may desire to edit only the Internet Protocol address (the A record) but not the MX records of your domain. So, www.domain.com will point to the Windows web server, but your e-mailboxes or any sub-domain names like forum.domain.com or shop.domain.com will still be in your current Linux web hosting account. The .ASP environment is invented by Microsoft and necessitates a Windows server, even though a Linux web server would be far more secure.
Affordably Priced Top-Level Domain Names Brought by 'smarthouse'
Just a small number of web hosting vendors permit you to modify certain domain records and quite frequently this an additional paid service. With smarthouse , you get an enormous assortment of Top-Level Domains to select from and you can edit all domain records or forward the domains via a forwarding tool at no additional charge. Therefore, 'smarthouse' would be your finest choice when it comes to managing your domain and to creating a successful presence on the web.