While the Domain Name System (DNS) – like the Internet’s phonebook – is endlessly big, no one wants to have a cryptic sequence of numbers and letters as their web address. In additional, many top-level domains (TLDs) or domain extensions have different levels of prestige. This, in turn, is mirrored in the price. While traditional endings like .com or .org are among the most popular domain endings, new TLDs are only slowly gaining in popularity.
There are also many different domain providers. Their price differences are usually not obvious, but some providers have special offers every now and then. While price should not be the only factor in choosing a domain provider, it is definitely worth comparing several providers.
To help you understand what you’re actually paying for, we’ll briefly explain the structure of a domain. Every domain is made up of various building blocks, that together – technically speaking – make up the fully qualified domain name (FQDN)
. If you look at your browser’s address bar, the domain (read from left to right) starts after the protocol specification (usually ). This is followed by:
- Third-level domain: Sub-domain; for websites this is usually www
- Second-level domain: Domain name; freely selectable; often contains the brand name or the name of the web project
- Top-level domain: Domain ending; TLDs are limited; differentiated between two types:
If you buy a domain, you select a top-level or second-level domain. Sub-domains can usually be selected more liberally.