A Beginner’s Guide to Domains

A Beginner’s Guide to Domains

1® 1&1 Internet Ltd 2013

Guide to Domains

This guide is aimed to assist the reader in having a clearer understanding of domains. We will explore what a domain name is, why they are beneficial and how to choose one. We hope this guide provides information that will aid you in your domain selection and better your knowledge.

For further questions please view the http://faq.1and1.co.uk/

Please note: Throughout this guide, we will use the domain www.testyourdomain.co.uk as an example.

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FAQ on our website

® 1&1 Internet Ltd 2013

http://faq.1and1.co.uk/

http://www.1and1.co.uk/

What is a Domain name?

Just like a street address determines the recipient of a letter, an IP address is used to identify computers on the Internet. IP addresses are sequences of numbers, such as 195.20.247.70 and website are identified by this IP address. As it is easier for a user to identify text rather than a series of numbers, an IP address is mapped into a domain name. For example www.1and1.co.uk is a domain name, it is easier to store and is more recognisable for your website user/visitor.

Structure of a domain nameA domain name consists of a word and a suffix; which is known as an extension. There are two types of extensions, country and generic:

1. Country extensions (cc TLD): These extensions consist of two letters that identify a country or territory. For example: de is for Germany, fr for France, and be for Belgium. We will cover other country extensions available on

2. Generic extensions (g TLD): These are composed of at least three letters, generally identifying the type of site. For example .org represents the word ‘organisation’ and is primarily used by non-profit groups or trade associations. We will cover other generic extensions available on


Requirements when choosing a Domain name?

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When choosing the name for your domains always consider the following factors:

The name should have between 2 and 63 characters. Only characters from the Latin alphabet (A-Z) and numeric digits (1-9) can be used. Only lowercase letters can be used. Special characters (except hyphens) are not authorised. No hyphen can be used at the beginning of name.

Tip: Deciding on a domain nameIf your company has a short name, use it! If your company has a long, complicated name, secure it nevertheless. Additionally, register a logical abbreviation. For example, if your company is 1&1 Test Domain Ltd., you could secure the following names:

Domain 1 (complete name): 1and1-test-domain.co.ukDomain 2 (abbreviation): 1and1test.co.uk


Benefits of registering a Domain name

There are many advantages of registering your own domain name:

1. Protecting your brand, your company identity and/or your name.By registering the domain name which corresponds to your brand, company or name, you can secure your online presence. In doing so, you will also protect other parties from registering a similar company name, if not the same. You can also register other top level domains and then point each domain to the most relevant one. For example, when looking at the below .com and .info can be mapped to .co.uk

1&1-test-domain.co.uk1&1-test-domain.com 1&1-test-domain.info

2. Having a website and email addresses customised to your name/brand/company.A relevant domain name allows users to find your website easily. You can create different email addresses for your employees, family or friends associated with the registered domain. Therefore you can effectively manage and facilitate the communication with your visitors and reinforce your image.

For example when taking our example domain name testyourdomain.co.uk, the website address could be www.testyourdomain.co.uk and the email addresses associated with it could be:

[email protected] [email protected]


Which extension do I choose?

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Below we have listed the domain names which are available to UK 1&1 customers and have explained each extension. If there is an extension not listed below, which you would like to know more about, please contact [email protected]

Country extensions (cc TLD):

.CO.UK This is the country code for United Kingdom. The .co portion of the extension indicates the domain name is for commercial purposes (similar to a standard .com extension). It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country. .ME.UKThe .me portion of the extension indicates the domain name is for an individual and the .uk is the country code for United Kingdom. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.

. ORG.UKThe .org portion of the extension indicates the domain name is for an organisation and the .uk is the country code for United Kingdom. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.



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Generic extensions (g TLD):

. BIZThis refers to the word business. This extension is ideal for e-commerce and small business websites. To use this extension you have to confirm and certify that the site will be used for legitimate business or commercial use.

.COThis extension is gaining popularity as an alternative to .com. Many top brands and companies register .co in addition to their .com because it is considered short for company, corporation and cooperative.

. COMThis represents the word commercial. It is the most widely used extension in the world. Most businesses prefer a .com domain name because it is a highly recognised symbol for having a business presence on the Internet. The domain name .com is now used by all those who wish to give an international dimension to their website to reflect a picture of international stature. It is suitable for businesses who wish to enhance their presence in different markets around the world.

.EU This is the country code for the European Union. This indicates a top-level domain and is highly recommended for companies wishing to expand their business within the Union European or for those wishing to put forward their European identity. This extension is open to anyone with a address on the territory of the European Union.

. INFOThis signifies a resource website and is the most popular extension beyond .com, .net and .org.



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Generic extensions (g TLD) continued:

. NETThis represents the word network. It is most commonly used by Internet service providers, web hosting companies or other businesses that are directly involved in the infrastructure of the Internet. Additionally, some businesses choose domain names with a .net extension for their intranet websites. It is also a good alternative to .com

. ORGThis represents the word organisation. It is primarily used by non-profit groups or trade associations.



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Please note: The more keywords referenced in your domain name, the more search engines will rate your website and therefore position it higher in search results. Meaning the more visitors will reach your website(s).

Tip: Secure misspelled domains When visitors manually input your domain name into the browser address bar, they will often misspell words, switch or miss letters. Check how your domain name could be misspelled and secure these as additional domains.

Did you know? Domain squatters use misspelled domain names for criminal purposes and secure these in order to direct customers who are looking for your website to their own websites.


Why choose a Domain name with 1&1?

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With more than 12.5 million customer contracts, over £3.5 billion in annual turnover, 5000 employees, 19 million registered domains and 5 high-performance data centres, we are one of the world’s largest web hosts and a leading domain registrar.

Buying a domain name with 1&1 is simple; your perfect domain will be yours in just a few clicks! When registering your domain with 1&1 you will have these beneficial features:

Full DNS (Domain Name System) managementDNS management is a service which allows domain owners to manage and organise their DNS records in a simple and reliable way. With the 1&1 DNS management tool you have complete flexibility to point your domain names to any static IP address or hostname and point your domain to 1&1 name servers. You can optimise the logistics of your web addresses and websites, and organise your domain records with a variety of users, servers and locations. In addition you can obtain up to four name servers of your choice.

Masked URL forwarding

1&1 offers masked URL forwarding, which is perfect for people who want to redirect their domain to another URL. Therefore the true URL of the website will not appear in the address bar of a user's browser and the domain name being forwarded appears in its place. For example, if the domain domain.co.uk uses URL Masking to http://www.google.com/ then when anyone views http://www.domain.co.uk/ in the browser, they will see the Google page while the address bar will still have http://www.domain.co.uk/

1&1 Control PanelManage all of your domains from the easy-to-use 1&1 Control Panel and benefit from the reliability and security of 1&1 name servers.


Thank you If you have any questions, please ask us:

1&1 Internet Ltd.Phone: 0844 335 1211

Email: [email protected]

Facebook.com/1and1ukTwitter: @1and1_UK

Twitter Support: @1and1_4u

A Beginner’s Guide to Domains

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