Domain Glossary: What Does a Domain Mean?

Technical Terms and jargon got you confused? Below are some commonly used terms and their definitions in the domain name registration industry.

  1. Domain Name
  2. Registrant
  3. Registrar
  4. Registry
  5. Administrative/Technical/Billing Contacts
  6. DNS
  7. Primary and Secondary Name Servers
  8. Primary and Secondary IP numbers
  9. Domain Parking
  10. Modification of your domain names contact information
  11. Web Hosting
  12. ISP
  13. InterNIC
  14. WhoIs
  15. Renewal
  16. Transfer (Domain Name transfer)
  17. Top Level Domain (TLD) Name
  18. Second Level Domain Name

    1. Domain Name

    A domain name is the core of your online identity. It is the address web surfers use to find your web site. Your domain name is yours entirely because once registered, no other party may use that identity online in that Top Level Domain. 

    Domain Names always have 2 or more parts, separated by periods/dots. The part on the left is the most specific, and the part on the right is the most general.
    Computers on the Internet use IP (Internet Protocol) numbers (e.g., 123.452.06.31) to locate other computers. Internet users would have a difficult time remembering these long strings of numbers to find sites, so Domain names were developed to translate IP numbers into easy to remember domain names.

    2. Registrant

    The entity, organization, or individual who is the owner/lease holder of a particular domain name is known as the Registrant. When registering a domain name for a Company or Organization be sure that the Company or Organizations name is listed as the Registrant if you wish for the Company to have control over ownership/lease hold.

    3. Registrar

    An ICANN accredited entity (or an affiliate to such an entity) which acts on behalf of a Registrant regarding domain name registrations or modifications, is known as a Registrar.

    4. Registry

    The organization responsible for the actual administration and maintenance of the top-level domain database is known as the Registry. The Registry is where Registrars create new or modify existing domain names for Registrants. For the .Com, Net, and .Org extensions the Registry is a US government contracted database.

    5. Administrative/Technical/Billing contacts

    Contact Records are individuals or groups who represent a Registrant on matters related to the Registrant's domain name(s). There are three types of Contacts: Administrative, Technical, and Billing. Contacts have the ability to Modify information pertaining to a domain name. A Contact may be a single person, a company, or organization.

    6. DNS

    DNS stands for Domain Name System. This System translates a domain name such as RegisterFly.com into IP numbers. DNS is basically a piece of translation software which allows humans and computers to easily communicate. The network of computers that constitute the Internet map domain names to their corresponding IP numbers.
    The DNS record consists data similar to the following example:
    Primary Nameserver:     NS.0-0DOMAIN.COM
    Primary IP address:       111.111.111.111

    7. Primary and Secondary Name Servers

    The Primary and Secondary Name Servers indicate the hostname of a name server that will contain authoritative data for the domain name being registered and will deliver/translate that domain name to its corresponding IP number. The designation of "secondary" indicates that the name server will be used in addition to and as a backup for the primary name server that is listed as Primary.

    8. Primary and Secondary IP address/numbers

    IP stands for Internet Protocol. A unique number consisting of 4 parts separated by periods/dots. Every machine which houses information that is available on the Internet has a unique number, which correlates to its domain name.

    9. Domain Parking

    Registrars require Primary and Secondary Name Servers and IP Numbers for every domain registered (DNS). Every domain name has to be linked this information for it to be valid (i.e., each domain name needs to have an address attached to it). At the time of registration some people do not yet have Name Server and IP Number information (which is provided by a Web Host), therefore our Registrar offers 'domain parking' (Free of charge) on their servers. It is a convenient and Free way to hold or 'Park' domain name(s) for an extended amount of time if you are not ready to use them.

    10. Modification of your domain names contact information

    "Modification" is a function where a domain names information is updated to reflect new contact or DNS information. Administrative and Technical Contacts have the ability to modify domain name information. There is a fee to change the Registrant of a domain name. All other modifications to Administrative, Technical, Billing, and DNS are Free.
    Contact support@0-domain.com with modification requests.

    11. Web Host

    Web Hosts offer a service where their "server" computer stores your web site's HTML files, and graphics for a fee. Their server allows your web site to be viewed over the Internet.


    12. ISP (Internet Service Provider)

    ISP stands for Internet Service Provider. An ISP provides access to the Internet for others via some connectivity service(s). Examples of ISPs include Earthlink, AOL, Mindspring, and PSInet to name a few.

    13. InterNIC

    InterNIC was an U.S. government agency that has been effectively replaced by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). ICANN now oversees the domain names industry concerning the TLD's .Com, .Net, and .Org . ICANN is technically an international organization, which holds meetings at different international locations throughout each year.

    14. WhoIs

    WhoIs is a term referring to a domain name search feature for the .Com, .Net, and .Org database. The WhoIs can be used to search for the owner/lease holder of any domain name which has already been registered. This is valuable information if you wish to contact the owner of a domain name that may or may not be attached to a functioning web site.

    15. Renewal

    Registration for domain names needs to be renewed based on some scheduled yearly interval. This gives the Registrant (you) and the Registry an opportunity to update contact information and settle on the payment of the registration fee(s).

    16. Transfer - Registrant (Domain Name Owner/Lease Holder transfer)

    The procedure for change of ownership is known a Registrant Transfer. Domain names can be given or sold to a different party, or the name of a company might change. The Registrar requires a process by which permission from the old owner to hand over control to the new owner is obtained and authorized by notary public documentation.
    17. Top Level Domain (TLD)

    In the example YourCompany.net the “.net” is the Top Level Domain. There are two types of Top Level Domains. The most common type is gTLDs (generic Top Level Domains) , such as .Com, .Net, .Org.  The other type of TLD is the ccTLD (country code Top Level Domains) which are assigned to all countries and their dependencies (e.g., Germany is .de). Every TLD Registry - generic or country code - has its own prices, policies, and procedures that Registrants (name holders) in that Registry are subject to. It is important to know and be prepared to accept these terms before registering name(s) in a particular Registry. The most commonly registered names are in the .Com, .Net, and .Org gTLD's.

    18. Second Level Domain

    In the Domain Name System (DNS), the next highest level of the hierarchy underneath the Top Level Domains. In the example of the domain name YourCompany.net - the “YourCompany” part is the second level domain. Second level domain names are the what Registrants decide upon and register.  


          Top ^