What is a domain name: definition and challenges
Looking to create a website? Before it goes live, many elements need to be put in place first, including registering a domain name. But what does this involve?
What is a domain name?
A domain name refers to your website address. This is what users type in a browser’s search bar to access your website directly. A domain name is unique and cannot be shared between different sites. For example: ovhcloud.com
Understanding domain names
Each website is identified by a unique series of numbers, called an IP address. Your computer uses these numbers to connect to the server where the website data is located. When visitors enter a domain name in their search bar, it sends a request to a set of Domain Name System (DNS) servers. The DNS then responds with the IP address of the website’s hosting server, making it accessible. Domain names were created because IP addresses aren’t as easy to remember. So, for internet users to access a website, it needs to be given a name.
The structure of a domain name
To finish off this definition of a domain name, here’s a quick explanation of its structure. Let’s take the domain name of the OVHcloud website as an example: www.ovhcloud.com
www stands for World Wide Web and is the third-level domain. ovhcloud is the second-level domain, the actual name of the site. .com is the top-level domain, also known as the TLD extension.
There are also sub-domains, such as our documentation website: docs.ovh.com. The sub-domain here is ‘docs’.
Find out more in our domain name guide.
How do I find a good domain name?
How much thought should be given to a domain name when creating a website? In theory, with a good website, users should visit your pages whatever the domain name – but it’s a little more complicated than that. If you run a business, it’s worth choosing a domain name that is right for your brand.
Why is this so important?
Your site’s URL is the first thing your visitors will see. Creating a relevant domain name can make a good first impression. Otherwise, your website may be viewed negatively.
This also affects the organic SEO rankings of your pages. Exact match domains (EMDs) aren’t a must anymore, but the right keywords in your domain name can still give your SEO a boost.
Finally, domain names define your brand. A good domain name can strengthen brand and business recognition.
Tips for choosing a new domain name
Here are some best practices for selecting the right domain name for your website or blog.
Get to the point: finding a generic domain name that is short enough will help future visitors remember it better. Keep it simple: pick a name that is easy to pronounce and spell. Assess its relevance: a domain name that is related to the theme of your website or blog helps users understand the content of the site quickly. Make it distinctive: choose your domain name the way you’d choose a trademark. Or, keep it simple and use your company name as your website’s domain name. Use your own name: if you want to create a personal blog, it’s very likely that your name or first name/surname will be available as a domain name (unless someone with the same name has already had the same idea). Choose a .com or .co.uk domain extension: these are the most common extensions in the UK.
Check the availability of a domain name
This is the tricky part: each domain name can only be owned by one person at a time. Therefore, to purchase a domain name, you need to find one that is available, i.e., one that no one owns when you do your search. You can use a search engine like Google and enter the domain name you’re after to see whether it’s already registered. Alternatively, there are tools that help you find an available domain name.
How do I buy a domain name?
To buy a domain name, simply go to an online domain name registrar, enter the domain name you want and pay for a subscription. Keep in mind, however, that it’s not always necessary to go through a registrar. With web hosting providers, such as OVHcloud, you can sign up for a hosting solution, and register a domain name at the same time. If you’d like to host a domain name with OVHcloud to create a website, don’t hesitate to contact us.
The legal challenges of domain names
Registering a domain name that includes the name of a well-known trademark is not the same as owning the trademark’s intellectual and industrial property rights. That said, anyone can reserve a domain name containing a trademark, as long as the company in question hasn’t already done so. This can create some conflicts between the company and the domain name holder that case law is trying to address, since a domain name does not have a legal status per se.
It’s therefore strongly recommended that businesses reserve several domain names with different extensions (.com, .co.uk, .net, etc.) that incorporate the trademarks used by their company. This protects the company’s brand identity from being misused, including by an unfair competitor or cybersquatters. However, French law seems to side with the owners of the trademark registered with the INPI, even if they aren’t holders of the corresponding domain name.
Your questions answered
What are the advantages of reserving your domain with OVHcloud?
You have a wide range of domain name extensions to help protect your brand on the internet, if you’re a business. OVHcloud also provides you with a custom email address linked to the domain. What’s more, as a hosting provider, we can strengthen your DNS security, and allow you to configure your DNS zone.
How do I check a domain name’s availability?
There are several ways to check if the domain you want to buy is available. You can search it by name in a search engine (Google, Yahoo!, Bing, DuckDuckGo, etc.), or in our WHOIS tool.