A domain or domain name is a human-understandable symbolic analogue of a site's IP address. For example: proseo.kiev.ua and 185.68.16.28 are the same address of our site. But the first version of the domain is written in letters and is intended for people, and the second is indicated as technical.

From a technical point of view, a domain name is an entry in a database that "sees" a computer and conveys the name of a site to a person. From the user's point of view, the domain name and IP address can be compared to entries in the phone book: it is easier for a person to remember and identify "Ihor, repair" or "Elena, apartment cleaning" than phone numbers.

Domain structure

The domain structure consists of a domain zone, a domain, and (optionally) a subdomain:

структура домену

This is what the general structure of the domain looks like

We are used to reading from the left, but the domain name from a hierarchical point of view is read in reverse, from right to left. The most important and first thing is the zone, or what is in the domain name after the last dot. They are registered by the international organization ICANN, which contains a complete register of registered zones.

All domain zones are divided into two main types:

  • national/geographic;
  • thematic

National zones, or first-level domains, include two-letter zones denoting the international code of a country or group of countries. For Ukraine, the main national domain is .ua, for Germany – .de, for Israel – .il, for the European Union – .eu.

Thematic domain zones are zones that indicate the site belongs to a specific topic. In the .gov zone, government resources are usually registered, the .online zone is used by Internet projects, and the world's most popular .com zone designates any commercial sites.

To the left of the last point, before indicating the zone, is the parent domain, it is a second-level domain. This is a unique combination of characters for the selected zone - letters, numbers, signs "." and "-". It is the choice of this combination that is mostly worked on when the task is "we need to come up with a site name".

There can be subdomains to the left of the second-level domain. The owner of a second-level domain has the right to create an unlimited number of subdomains, for example, if his business develops in different areas.

Technical requirements for domains

In order for a second-level domain to be registered, it must meet a number of requirements. In the .com .ua and .ua zones it is:

  • Length — minimum 1, maximum 63 characters. The shorter the domain name, the easier it is for a person to remember, so companies usually tend to choose short domains. But in the most popular areas, short, memorable domains are either taken or sold very expensively, so actually choosing a name shorter than 5 characters will not work.
  • Letters — Latin letters are used in all zones. DNS servers that read domain names are not case sensitive. Traditionally, domain names are written in lowercase letters.
  • Numbers — domains use Arabic numbers.
  • Additional characters are "." and "-". The symbol "." used ONLY as a separator between a subdomain, a domain, and a domain zone. The symbol “-” is used inside the name, but it cannot be duplicated – the option “–” is not allowed, as is the use of a hyphen as the first character in the name.

In other domain zones, owners may set other requirements. For example, there are zones where the permissible length of a domain name reaches 127 characters, but this makes little practical sense.

How to choose the right domain name

In order for the business to develop successfully, it is important to choose the right domain name. It is not enough that the name complies with the rules of the registrar and is unique. For example, the domain name glavroptsnabsbytreconstrykcia.ua is unlikely to lead to success, although it is possible to register it. We formulated 5 rules that you can follow when choosing a good name.

  1. A domain name is easy to write and understand. As a rule, these are logical and easy-to-pronounce domain names. They don't have to be short. Choose domain names that are easy to read and write.
  2. The domain name matches the theme. The topic can be indicated directly or associatively.
  3. The domain name is consistent with the company name. If the company has existed for a long time, the brand is well-known, but it has not yet had a website, it is rational to link the domain name to the name. This can be done by adding prefixes or additional explanatory words if the name itself is already occupied in the selected zone.
  4. A domain name is geographically linked. The rule is suitable for local business - websites of beauty salons, kindergartens, medical centers, offline stores, cafes. The names "plitka.kiev.ua" or "toys.lviv.ua" directly indicate the geography of the business, cutting off the non-target audience and helping the user to better navigate the search results.

How a domain name affects the search engine promotion of a site

If it is possible to include a search query on the topic of the site or part of it in the domain name, this will positively affect the positions in the search results and increase the clickability of the site. For example, the site "derevbud.com.ua" is found on the first page of the search for "wooden houses".

If you take a popular search query in your topic and use it in full - for example "deshevi-doma-pid-klyuch.ua", then Google may recognize such a domain name as spam, and the resource will lose positions in the search results.

Домен: що це таке визначення, приклади, «правильне» ім'я сайту

Why check domain history?

Buying a domain is actually renting. Usually, the domain of the site is rented for a year, after the end of this term you can continue using it after making a payment. If the lease is no longer renewed, the domain becomes available for registration again. But his story remains, and it may include:

  • The facts of pessimism/falling under search engine filters. Such domains are more difficult to promote because search engines remember that there were claims against it.
  • Use in questionable topics. For example, when choosing a domain name for selling children's products, there is a theoretical chance of using a domain that previously hosted a site selling adult sex toys. Such historical baggage will harm the company.

Anyone can check the history of the domain: for example, through web archives. If the site has not been subjected to any search engine filters and sanctions during its existence, the long age of the domain will be a plus. Since the first indexing of this domain, it has already won the trust of search engines and its prospects to be in high positions in search results are greater than that of a newly registered domain.

How to register a domain

After choosing a domain, it must be registered. How to do it?

Step 1. Go to the website of any registrar and check the uniqueness of the selected domain name - its availability for registration.

Enter the selected name in the search bar, and the system will show all available zones in which it can be registered.

Step 2. Register on the registrar's website, if you have not used its services before.

Step 3. Choose all the services you need from those offered by the registrar.

Step 4. Enter your contact details and pay the bill.

The domain is now leased and you can use it.

We draw conclusions

When choosing a domain name, remember:

  • It should be derived from your brand, or in some way indicate the field of activity of the company.
  • The domain name should be unambiguous to understand and easy to write, read and hear.
  • It must be registered in the area that is best ranked by search engines, taking into account the geography of your business.

The right, simple, informative domain name will be a serious plus for the search of your site, while an ill-considered choice can slow down the process.