Domain Registration

About Domains
A Domain name creates your identity on the website. It identifies your brand and products online. That’s why choosing a good domain name is very important for your business. You should consider a domain name which is short, catchy and memorable for example clemsyfurniture.co.ke Keeping your domain name registered protects you from easily losing your whole online identity. Once your domain name expires, you will no longer own that domain name. The Domain name can then be sold to the highest bidder.
Why have a professional email address?
Professional email address: Having a domain name will enhance the process of acquiring a professional email address such as sales@abccompany.co.ke. Most business owners respect professional email address as compared to free email address such ndung’u98@yahoo.com.
Trustworthy: Let’s say you are in need of an electrician to make repairs in your office or house then you ask them to send their quotations. You finally get quotations from aliceh45@gmail.com and finance@antselectricals.co.ke. Which one will you trust? Of course the second one,because it is more genuine and professional as compared to gmail account. A domain name registered email address build the trust of your potential customers when communicating.
Domain name builds your brand. This is achieved when you send emails to various organizations using your domain name registered email address.
A domain name is unique and builds your online presence. To host a website one is required to have a domain name which is short, memorable and unique. These characteristics enable people to easily find you on Google search engine.
SECURE YOUR DOMAIN NAME TODAY BY UNDERSTANDING HOW DOMAIN NAMES WORK?
A domain name works by acting as a link or alternative name to the server that hosts your website.
Without a domain name, anyone who wanted to visit your website would have to enter the full IP address which is usually 12 to 15 digit number. But the problem is that an IP address is difficult for people to memorize or to include on advertising materials. For example, www.softlinkoptions.co.ke is our domain name. Let’s say it points to the IP address 162.241.159.80.70. The IP address points to a server, but it doesn’t lead to the website if visitors try to use it. That’s because for an IP address to lead a website, the remote server needs to be using port 80 with a default page (i.e. index.html) stored in its public accessible directory.
As you can see, messing around with server defaults and IP addresses can be both confusing and time-consuming. That’s why the vast majority of website owners opt to utilize a service like Softlink Options which offers domain name registration services with annual web hosting packages.
Domain names can also use redirects, which essentially allow you to specify that if people visit your domain, they’re automatically forwarded to another. This can be useful for campaigns and microsites or for forwarding people to dedicated landing pages on your main site.
We have very many types of domain names, while .com domains make up for 46.5% of all global registered domain names, it still leaves plenty of room for other domain name types like .org and .net. Overall, the most common types of domain names include:
Types of Domain Names
TLD: Top Level Domains
A top level domain is exactly what it sounds like: a type of domain name which is at the top level of the internet’s domain name system. There are over a thousand TLDs available but the most common include .com, .org, .net, and .edu.
The official list of TLDs is maintained by an organization called the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) and can be viewed here. IANA notes that the list of TLDs also includes ccTLDs and gTLDs, which we’ll talk about next.
ccTLD: Country Code Top Level Domains (For Exmaple .ke for Kenya)
ccTLDs use just two letters and are based upon international country codes, such as .ke for Kenya and .ug for Uganda. They are often used by companies that are building websites for specific regions or countries and can be a good way of signaling to users that they have arrived at the right place.
gTLD: Generic Top Level Domain
A gTLD is essentially a top-level domain that doesn’t rely on a country code. Many gTLDs are intended for a specific use-case, such as .edu which is aimed at educational institutions. That said, you don’t have to meet any specific criteria to register a gTLD, which is why a .com domain might not necessarily be used for commercial purposes.
Other examples of gTLDs include .mil (military), .gov (government), .org (for non-profits and organizations), and .net, which was originally designed for internet service providers (ISPs) but is now used more widely.
Other Domain Name Types
While the above-mentioned domain name categories are the most frequent, there are other variations that you can run into.
Second-Level Domains
You’ve probably seen these domain names before. We’re talking about a domain that sits directly below a top-level domain name. We’re not going to get too technical here because it’s easier to show with examples, particularly when it comes to country codes
For example, Kenya companies often use .co.ke instead of .com, and it’s a perfect example of a second-level domain. Another second-level domain is .go.ke, which is often used by governmental institutions, and .ac.ke, which is used by academic institutions and universities.
Subdomains
Subdomains are useful because they don’t require webmasters to purchase an additional domain name to create divisions within their site. Instead, they’re able to create a subdomain that effectively points to a specific directory on the server. This can be super useful for campaign sites, micro sites and other types of web content that should be kept separate from the main site.