Domain Names More Choices than You Think

When you are choosing a domain name you will probably be looking for a .com or maybe a .net. This on the whole is sensible advice, but if you are offering something a little bit different on your website and you want to stand out then there is another path you can take.

First let me give a quick and simple explanation of the different parts that domain names are made up of. Let us start with the top level, this is the end part of any web address such as .com or the myriad of other top level names that are now available. The part next to the top level domain is called the second level domain. The second level domain is the part that you register with a domain name registrar. For my site the second level domain is NameSearchDomain.

The part at the from of the web address is the third level domain, this is excluding the www part. The third level domain is often referred to by your web host as the sub-domain, it is just a sub-domain of the second level domain name. You can set this part up with your web host if it allows you to use sub-domains.

This is a very high level overview of how a web address is made up, there is more to this but for our purposes this is all we nee to know. To clarify here is an example using Google.

  • Second Level - Google.com or www.Google.com
  • Sub-domain - News.Google.com or www.News.Google.com

You do not need to enter the www part of the address in your browser, just typing in Google.com will take you to the website.

Now you know how a web address is made up you can use your imagination to come up with a clever and distinctive web address. If you take a look at del.icio.us you can see an interesting use of the available domain names to spell the word delicious. Here they have registered the domain name icio.us, the us part is the top level domain that represents North America. A sub-domain of del has been created on their web server which completes the creation of a catchy web address.

Why not use the same principal to create your own web address, there are many top level domains to choose from, far too many to list here. As many of the less well known top level domains are not used there will be a lot more domain names to choose from. You can use this method to create a distinctive web address and become more memorable to your visitors.

Allan is the webmaster at NameSearchDomain.com where you can find out all about Domain names.

In The News:

Yahoo! News: Top Stories

A pair of specialists work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Dec. 1, 2008. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)AP - A litany of bad economic news has snuffed out Wall Street's five-day rally, sending stocks falling sharply as investors realized anew how troubled the U.S. economy really is. Confirmation that the nation is in a recession followed reports of only a modest gain in holiday shopping sales, and that prompted investors to begin unloading stocks. Downbeat data on manufacturing and construction spending added to the market's gloom.



President-elect Barack Obama, left, stands with Secretary of State-designate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., center, and National Security Adviser-designate Ret. Marine Gen. James Jones, right, at a news conference in Chicago, Dec. 1, 2008. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)AP - President-elect Barack Obama picked a national security team headed by former campaign rival Hillary Rodham Clinton and Bush administration holdover Robert Gates on Monday, and said he wants to consult with military commanders before settling on a firm timetable to withdraw U.S. combat troops from Iraq.



In thgis Nov. 18, 2008 file photo, Paul Nawrocki, from Beacon, N.Y., wears a sign as he looks for work near the David Letterman studios in New York. The U.S. economy has been in a recession since December 2007, the National Bureau of Economic Research said Monday.  (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)AP - The U.S. economy has been in a recession since December 2007, the National Bureau of Economic Research said Monday.



Tape covers bullet holes in the windows of the newly-reopened Refresh Cafe in the landmark Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus train station, in Mumbai, India, Monday Dec. 1, 2008.  This scarred and traumatized city struggled back to its feet Monday, reopening schools and businesses, as residents tried to come to terms with the string of terror attacks that brought bloodshed to the heart of Mumbai. The owner of the cafe said he had little choice but to reopen the fast food restaurant in the station, even though its glass wall is scarred with bullet holes, half his staff refused to come back and his brother is on a ventilator in the intensive care unit after being shot in the abdomen by the attackers. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)AP - India demanded Monday that Pakistan take "strong action" against those behind the deadly Mumbai attacks, and Washington pressured Islamabad to cooperate with the investigation.



Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, center, waves to a crowd during a campaign stop for U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga, Monday, Dec. 1, 2008 in Savannah, Ga. Chambliss and Democratic challenger Jim Martin are   in a Tuesday runoff that will shape Democrats' hold on power in Washington. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton)AP - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin urged Georgia voters to back Sen. Saxby Chambliss in Tuesday's runoff in an election eve appeal that underscored her popularity within the Republican Party and the GOP's efforts to stave off erosion of its shrinking Senate numbers.



U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice smiles during a press conference with  Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband after their meeting  in London, Monday, Dec. 1, 2008. President-elect  Barack Obama  announced Monday that Hillary Rodham Clinton  will be the next Secretary of State. (AP Photo/Akira Suemori)AP - Happily contemplating another woman as the top U.S. diplomat, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Monday she will offer advice, privately, and then get out of the way.



AP - Older people who are depressed are much more likely to develop a dangerous type of internal body fat — the kind that can lead to diabetes and heart disease — than people who are not depressed, a disturbing new study found.

In this Oct. 29, 2007 file photo, socialite Ivana Trump and Rossano Rubicondi attend the 2007 G&P Foundation 10th Annual Angel Ball in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini, file)AP - Ivana Trump has issued a statement confirming reports of marital discord with Italian entrepreneur Rossano Rubicondi. Trump, who married Rubicondi in April, says she filed a legal separation agreement three months ago. Trump says she kept quiet about it because she didn't want to ruin Rubicondi's chances as a contestant on the Italian edition of the reality TV show "Survivor."



AP - A man who rammed his truck into a woman's vehicle on a highway early Friday told authorities he crashed into her while going more than 100 mph because God told him "she needed to be taken off the road."

New York Giants' Plaxico Burress, right, arrives at Manhattan Supreme Court for arraignment with an unidentified man on Monday, Dec. 1, 2008 in New York. Burress accidentally shot himself at a Manhattan nightclub Friday evening and was treated at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. He was released Saturday.  (AP Photo/David Karp)AP - Plaxico Burress was led out of a police precinct in handcuffs Monday after surrendering on a weapons possession charge, and authorities said that teammate Antonio Pierce is being investigated over his role in an accidental shooting at a Manhattan nightclub.



President-elect Barack Obama announces that Sen. Hillary Clinton will be his choice for Secretary of State during a news conference in Chicago December 1, 2008. (John Gress/Reuters)Reuters - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama named former rival Hillary Clinton as secretary of state on Monday and said Robert Gates would remain defense secretary in a national security team charged with recasting America's leadership role in the world.



A trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, November 13, 2008. (Brendan McDermid/Reuters)Reuters - Stocks tumbled on Monday as news pointing to the deepening economic slump around the world erased the bulk of last week's sharp gains, with financial services companies and retailers among Wall Street's biggest casualties.



Members of ZAKA, Israel's non-governmental rescue-and-recovery organization which specializes in collecting human remains to ensure a proper Jewish burial, speak with policemen after performing religious rituals in front of Nariman House in Mumbai's Colaba area, December 1, 2008. (Jayanta Shaw/Reuters)Reuters - India demanded Pakistan take decisive action over deadly attacks in Mumbai it said were carried out by militants from its nuclear-armed rival, while the West urged cooperation to ease tension.



President Bush and first lady Laura Bush walk to make a statement on the attacks in Mumbai on the South Lawn of the White House, November 29, 2008. (Yuri Gripas/Reuters)Reuters - President George W. Bush said the biggest regret of his presidency was flawed intelligence that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and told ABC "World News" in an interview airing on Monday that he was unprepared for war when he took office.



A woman watches as people shop in the Time's Square Toys 'R' Us store on 'Black Friday' in New York, November 28, 2008. (Brendan McDermid/Reuters)Reuters - The U.S. economy has slumped into a recession, the nation's business cycle arbiter declared on Monday, while European leaders clashed over how much public money to spend tackling a deepening downturn.



Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi speaks during a news conference in the U.S. Capitol in Washington November 21, 2008. (Molly Riley/Reuters)Reuters - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi met leading governors on Monday to discuss the size and shape of an economic stimulus package that one Democratic aide said was likely to cost around $500 billion.



An anti-government demonstrator chases after a suspected pro-government supporter in Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport on December 1, 2008. (Kerek Wongsa =/Reuters)Reuters - Thai protesters prepared to end their three-month occupation of the Prime Minister's office on Monday to consolidate their grip on the main airport ahead of a court verdict that could dissolve the elected government.



Birmingham Mayor Larry P. Langford in an undated photo. (Handout/Reuters)Reuters - Federal authorities arrested the mayor of Birmingham, Alabama, on Monday in a corruption probe surrounding a massive sewer bond debt that has forced Jefferson County to the brink of bankruptcy.



US President-elect Barack Obama (L) nominates Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-NY, as US Secretary of State during a press conference in Chicago, Illinios. Obama on Monday nominated Hillary Clinton to be his AFP - Barack Obama on Monday nominated Hillary Clinton to be his "tough," "smart" secretary of state and his former foe vowed to give her all to steer America through a perfect storm of global crises.



Map locating the attacks in Mumbai. India has formally accused AFP - India on Monday formally accused "elements" in Pakistan of being behind the devastating Islamic militant attacks in Mumbai and demanded that Islamabad take "strong action".




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