What is Domain Name?
A domain is the string of characters that a user types in their browser to find your website. It translate a website numerical IP address into a more readable format.
Every website has atleast one IP address, a string of numbers that identifies the server where the website’s datais hosted. For example, the IP address for hubspot.com is 172.64.148.142. However, remembering a different IP address for every website you visit would be a pain.
A domain name is connected to a website’s IP address so people can more easily remember and search for a website by its domain. Their browser can still find the specific web server that hosts the website via the associated IP address.
I think of my website domain like my home address. My friends don’t memorize my house’s GPS coordinates. Instead, when they want to visit me, they just plug my street address into their phones.
The same goes for visiting a website. Instead of memorizing a website’s IP address, visitors simply type in the domain into their browser.
Parts of a Domain Name
A domain typically has two parts: the second-level and the top-level.
Second-Level Domain (SLD)
The second-level domain is the part of your domain that comes before “.com” or another extension. For instance, hubspot.com’s second-level domain is “hubspot.” When buying a domain, make it short and memorable so it’s easy for people to find it.
Top-Level Domain (TLD)
The top-level domain is the extension or the part of your domain that comes after your second-level domain. It indicates the type of entity you are. For example, HubSpot’s top-level domain is “.com” since we’re a commercial entity in the United States.
Most American businesses register their website with “.com.” In fact, according to data from Verisign, the largest TLD in 2023 was .com, with 159.6 million reported domain names in the domain name base.
Other TLDs include “.edu” for accredited post-secondary educational institutions, “.gov” for government, and “.org” which is usually for nonprofits.
What is a domain name example?
An example of a domain name is usps.com. This is made up of a second-level domain (“usps”) and a top-level domain (“.com”).
Other examples of popular domain names include:
- youtube.com
- irs.gov
- harvard.edu
- redcross.org
Types of Domains
- Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLD)
- Country Code Top-Level Domains (ccTLD)
- Internationalized Country Code Top-Level Domains (IDN ccTLD)
- Subdomain
1. Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLD)
gTLD refers to the best-known and most broadly used TLDs:
- .com
- .net
- .biz
- .org
- .info
2. Country Code Top-Level Domains (ccTLD)
These two-letter TLDs refer to specific geographical locations. Here are the most common ones:
- .tz
- .cn (China)
- .ru (Russia)
- .de (Germany)
- .br (Brazil)
- .au (Australia)
- .uk (United Kingdom)
- .nl (Netherlands)
3. Internationalized Country Code Top-Level Domains (IDN ccTLD)
These are domains that can be displayed in non-Latin character sets (e.g., Chinese).
4. Subdomain
A subdomain is part of a larger domain, appearing before the root domain name (e.g., blog.hubspot.com). Since a subdomain appears to the left of the SLD, it is also referred to as a third-level domain (3LD).
Pro tip: With Content Hub, you can add your custom domain to HubSpot for free. This allows you to connect your new domain to hosting, CDN, and security features all at one time.