If you ever been online, like you are now, then you have come in contact with domain names. Domain names are all over the web for the millions of your favorite websites. But have you ever explored what exactly is a domain name is and why it is important for any site on the web. What is its purpose or does it even have a purpose?Well if you ever wondered wonder no more because we are going to unravel this dazzling mystery today. And it shall be a good one if I must insist myself. Before we get in the gritty details of the magic and wonder of domain names lets begin by unmasking this topic with a story...There once was a king name Do Mane (pronounced as do main), who lived in a far distance land. In order for anyone to get to his kingdom they had to travel along a long treacherous and confusing path in order to see where this great king and his kingdom that was talked about for times on when seen.Do Mane found this to be a problem because whenever he would invite guest for any parties to share his victories or his treasures, many of them would abandon the travel because getting there seemed an impossible feat. So the king, Do Mane decided to change this passage and made a decree to do some remodeling and reconstruction to this path so that many from far and wide could come to his kingdom and enjoy the banquets that he hosted.He sent a letter out to all his friends and the town folks that the remodeling to the passage way will be on their way immediately and within 6 months it will be done and at that time he will host the largest party banquet the world has ever seen.So construction began. Do mane hired the best contractors and engineers he could find to build the best and most convenient passage way ever built in their time. Within the 6months the new passage way was done.Without hesitation many from distant lands heard of the construction that took place as well as the party that was to be held. To Do Manes surprise many more guest came then what he expected.In fact, many who did not even receive a letter either heard about the new passage way and news spread around the land and many came as a result to give thanks to Do Mane. The reason why was not only did he make it easier to get to his kingdom but he made it easier for many travelers to travel to different cities or districts.Therefore they came to the king to thank him and presented him with many gifts because he also improved the economy since many merchants were able to make trades with this faster and safer route.Do Mane was quite surprised how much the passage way had effected so many people and was pleased with the decision he made to improve the condition of the passage.From this story I think this is a great example of what a domain exactly is. Simply put it is a network address. In other words it's an address to get to your website.If we break down how information is transfered to a server it is with an IP address. As a user from the front end, or browser, you will not see the IP address. This is where the domain comes in. It acts as a cover up.Even better, from the point of a front end developer. Think of the IP address as the code and the domain name as the the front end of the website, or the design. This makes it easier for you to remember the sites address without actually knowing the code.TheDNS server, domain name server, then converts the domain name to its code of what it can recognize and then returns the information or data you were specifically looking for.Do mane had it right when he wanted to create an easier way for his friends and guests to find his kingdom by creating an easier path to get to the destination, and thats exactly what a domain name does.
The real question to ask is, do you want people to find you and how easy. Coming up with a domain name can take some creativity but the question to ask is how do you want to be remembered and what is the brand story your trying to tell?You want your domain name to be your own. When I see urls, which are different than domain names and I'll touch on that in a minute, I wonder if these businesses or individuals want to create their own entity. At least present themselves as one, or do they enjoy being under someone else's umbrella.For example lets say you decided to build your website with Shopify or something like Wix. I've seen many keep the url they were given...e.g.www.wix.com/michellesshopas opposed towww.michellesshop.comNow you tell me which looks better and a little more legit. In fact, I would remember michellesshop.com before what was that other one again. It was just too much.About those urls I said I would get to. Going back to that first url, you know the wix.com one. Yea that one.The difference between a domain name and a url is in the details. Let's look at this as we would a house or home.So your domain name will actually take you to the main house–your website. Look at urls as the path way to different sections or rooms in the house.So if we used the example from above once again, yea the Wix one lol. www.wix.com/michellesshopWix would be the main house and /michellesshop will function as just a room or section apart of that house. However just going to michellesshop.com you bypass going to and through Wix and just get Michelle's room/section. Think of this as Michelle now has her own piece of land and Wix just gave her some land to build on.So there you have it, you now have the basic understandings of what a domain name is and how it directs guests to your kingdom. Just be sure when you get your own kingdom that it's easy for visitors to find and is memorable.
