What is Domain Registration?

A domain, in the context of internet, refers to a specific computer or host server. All the computers connected to the internet are identified by an unique sequence of numbers, separated by dots, called IP address. If you enter the IP address on to the address bar, it will take you to the web site address that is represented by the IP address. But, it is not easy to remember these sequence of numbers that serve as the address of a computer or a network.

This is where a domain name can be very helpful. Domain names are very easy to remember and normally can be related to the content of the website or blog. For example, hotmail.com is very easy to remember and everybody can understand that it refers to a web mail site.

The .com refers to commercial websites and normally known as top level domain. Similarly, .gov refers to government websites, .edu to educational websites, .org to organizations and so on. The word hotmail in hotmail.com refers to the sub-domain. A top level domain and sub-level domain makes up a domain name.

When you apply for domain name registration from a domain registrar, you are free to choose the top level and sub level domains. Normally the prices vary based on the top level domains, .com is normally the most expensive. You can also associate your web site to a particular country, like sg for Singapore, in for India, my for Malaysia, ca for Canada, us for United States, aus for Australia and so on.