Domain Names
Domain Basics
Domain names are a way to refer to web sites in an easy to use and understand manner. They are your online identity. The way that people search for and visit your web page and refer to your online presence.
Technically a domain name is a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). The Domain Name System (DNS) actually links request for pages from your domain name to the web server that the files are stored and hosted on.
Domain Name Registration
Registering a domain name is very easy and inexpensive. You can register a domain name just to reserve the name for later use, if for instance you are starting a business and want to reserve the name so someone else doesn't register it but aren't ready to create a website.
Most commonly when you register a domain name you will also want to purchase web hosting services. Web hosting services provide you with the ability to actually store and display web pages to the public. Without hosting your files on a web server your domain is just "parked" doing little to nothing.
Domains have to be registered with a Domain Registrar typically costs between $10-20 dollars a year. Once you register a domain name it belongs to you for as long as you continue to renew the registration, which occurs on an annual basis.