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How domains really work? Domain names explained simply

  • Blog
Ilkari
Ilkari
  • 12min read

How do domains work? Domain names work by linking a name people can remember to the numeric IP address of the server that hosts the website. For example, the domain name example.com points to the IP address of the server where that website is hosted. More casually, think of a domain name as the virtual equivalent of a street address. It’s the keyword that users type into their browsers to navigate to a specific website.

When you type a domain into your browser, the request travels through the Domain Name System (DNS), a global network of servers that translates domain names into IP addresses and directs you to the correct website. Without this system, we’d all need to memorise strings of numbers to reach websites, which would make the internet nearly unusable.

What is a domain name?

A domain name, also called a web address or website domain, is the name you type to reach a website. It gives people an easy name to use in place of an IP address.

So what is an IP address? Every device on the internet has one. It’s a long number, such as 192.0.2.1, and computers use these numbers to find each other. That works fine for machines, but people are much better at remembering words than numbers. A domain name is the word that stands in for the number.

Domains are not only for websites. The same domain can be used for your company email, such as [email protected], and for different parts of a site, such as shop.example.com. Each domain is also unique, which means no two websites in the world can have the same one.

How does a domain name work, step by step?

How does a domain work once you press enter? In seven quick steps, from the moment you type it to the moment the website appears. Let’s follow what happens when you type wikipedia.org:

  1. You type the domain into your browser and press enter.
  2. Your device checks its memory. If you visited the site recently, it already knows the IP address and skips ahead to the last step.
  3. A DNS resolver takes the request. This is a server, usually run by your internet provider, that does the searching for you.
  4. The resolver asks a root server. The root server doesn’t know the answer, but it knows who looks after .org and points the resolver there.
  5. The .org server replies with the name servers in charge of wikipedia.org.
  6. That name server returns the IP address of the Wikipedia website.
  7. Your browser connects to that IP address and the page loads.

All of this happens in less than a second. So how does a domain work, in short? A bit like asking for directions: each server doesn’t know the full answer, but it knows who to ask next.

How does domain name ownership work?

Domain ownership works more like renting than buying. You don’t own a domain forever. You pay for the right to use it for a set time, and you keep that right for as long as you renew.

So what happens if you forget to renew? The domain isn’t lost straight away. For most generic domains, such as .com, it goes through three stages set out in ICANN’s domain life cycle:

  1. Grace period, up to 45 days. Your website and email may stop working, but you can still renew through your registrar. The exact length and the price depend on the registrar.
  2. Redemption period, 30 days. The website and email are now offline. You can still get the name back, but you pay an extra recovery fee on top of the renewal.
  3. Pending deletion, 5 days. The name can no longer be renewed or recovered by anyone.

Take a domain that expires on 1 March. With a full grace period, it could be recovered until mid May, and it would be released around 20 May, about 80 days after it expired. From that day, anyone can register it.

Released names don’t stay free for long. Good ones are often picked up within hours by people using an expired domains search, so a missed renewal can mean losing a domain for good.

What are the parts of a domain name?

A domain name has three main parts: the top-level domain, the second-level domain and the subdomain. These domain components are separated by dots, and each one has its own job. The easiest way to see how domain names are organised is to take one apart. Let’s use blog.example.com and read it from right to left, because that’s the order computers follow when they look a domain up.

The top-level domain

The top-level domain is the last part of a domain name, the bit that comes after the final dot. In blog.example.com, the top-level domain is .com. But it doesn’t have to be .com. Look at the ending of a few websites you may know:

The top-level domain is also called the extension or the ending. Think of it as the country on a postal address: it shows which large group the domain belongs to.

The second-level domain

The second-level domain is the part just before the extension, and it is the name you choose and register. In blog.example.com, the second-level domain is “example”. It is usually the name of a company, brand or project, as you can see in these websites:

Put together with the extension it gives you the full name, such as google.com, which is what most people mean when they say “domain”.

The subdomain

The subdomain is an optional part that goes at the very front. In blog.example.com, the subdomain is “blog”. Once you have a domain, you can create as many subdomains as you like without registering anything new. They are used to separate areas of a site, like in these examples:

What are the types of top-level domains (TLDs)?

There are five main types of top-level domains: generic, new generic, country code, sponsored and brand. A top-level domain, or TLD, is the extension at the end of a domain name, such as .com or .uk. TLDs are the highest level of the domain name hierarchy, and each type has its own purpose and its own rules. Here is each type with examples:

Generic top-level domains (gTLDs)

Generic top-level domains, or gTLDs, are extensions that are not tied to any country. They include the best known TLDs, such as .com, .net, .org, .info, and .biz. Today, there are more than a thousand gTLDs available, and the classic ones remain the easiest to register.

Examples:

Who can register: anyone, anywhere in the world can register and manage a gTLD, which makes them a popular choice for businesses and individuals alike.

New generic top-level domains (new gTLDs)

New generic top-level domains, or new gTLDs, are extensions launched from 2013 onwards to give people more choice than the classic endings. Many are tied to an industry or a creative idea, so organisations can show their sector or purpose right in their domain name.

Examples:

Who can register: most new gTLDs are open to anyone. A few have entry rules, such as .bank, which only verified banks can use.

Country code top-level domains (ccTLDs)

Country code top-level domains, or ccTLDs, are two letter extensions tied to a specific country or region. They are widely used by businesses and organisations to show a local presence.

Examples:

Who can register: it depends on the country, because ccTLDs often come with their own domain rules. Many are open to anyone, but some have limits. A few ask you to live or have a business in the country, such as .no for Norway, .ca for Canada and .au for Australia. Others, such as .it, .eu and .fr, may ask for a presence in the European Union. And in stricter cases, like .com.br in Brazil, you need a local tax ID before you can register.

These rules don’t stop people in other countries from visiting the sites. They only decide who can register them.

Sponsored top-level domains (sTLDs)

Sponsored top-level domains, or sTLDs, are extensions managed by an organisation that represents a specific community. They’re designed to serve the needs of that group.

Examples:

Who can register: only members of that community, because the sponsor of each TLD sets the rules. That is why you can trust that a .edu address belongs to a real school or university.

Brand top-level domains

Brand top-level domains are extensions that a company runs and keeps for itself. They work as a private ending that carries the company’s name.

Examples:

Who can register: only the company itself. Nobody outside it can register a name under these endings, which makes them a strong way to protect a brand online.

¿Quién hace funcionar los dominios?

Three key players make domains work: registries, registrars and registrants. The registry runs an extension, the registrar sells the names, and the registrant is the person or company that uses one.

Domain registries: the keepers of each extension

A domain registry is the organisation that runs a specific TLD. Every extension has one registry behind it.

Examples:

What they do: each registry keeps the official list of every domain registered under its extension. That list is what makes sure a domain leads to the right IP address. Registries also set the rules for their extension and record every new registration, renewal and deletion. They don’t sell domains directly to the public. Instead, they work through approved partners called registrars.

Domain registrars: the intermediaries

A domain registrar is the company you deal with when you register a domain. It sits between you and the registry.

Example: Ilkari is a registrar. At Ilkari, we act as your trusted registrar, working with registries worldwide as well as with many community-led TLD registries. This global reach allows us to support your domain needs whether you’re targeting a local market or a highly specialised community.

What they do: on the registrar’s website you search for a free name, pay the registration fee, and manage your domain afterwards. Once you send your request, the registrar passes it to the right registry to complete the registration. Registrars often offer extra services such as:

Domain registrants: that’s you

A domain registrant is the person or organisation that registers the domain name.

Examples:

What they do: registrants choose the name, pay for it and decide where it points. People often call the registrant the “owner”, but registrants don’t actually own domains outright. They look after the name for as long as they keep the registration active. Domains are given on a first-come, first-served basis, and every registration lasts for a set time.

Por qué es importante entender los dominios

Most people only think about their domain on the day it stops working. By then the website is down, the email has gone quiet, and getting the name back can be slow and expensive. Knowing how domains work is what keeps you out of that situation.

If you’re an individual, the job is fairly light. You probably have one name for a personal site, a blog or an email address, and all it asks of you is to renew on time. Companies have a harder task. Customers reach them through the domain, every staff email address depends on it, and there is rarely just one. A business tends to collect domains over the years: one per country, a few for products, and several similar names registered so nobody else can take them. Each has its own renewal date and its own rules. A valuable name also attracts the wrong kind of attention, from lookalike domains to domain hijacking, where someone takes control of a domain without the owner’s permission. Good corporate domain names are worth too much to leave to chance.

That is the part Ilkari takes care of. We are a registrar that works with registries around the world, so we can handle domain name registration for generic, country code and community extensions, including those with local requirements. With domain management we keep a company’s domains renewed and in one place, and with domain protection we watch for lookalike names set up to fool your customers. You know how domains work now. We can help you look after yours.

FAQs

How to use a domain?

To use a domain, you connect it to a service by changing its DNS records. These are simple settings you usually manage at your registrar. One record, called an A record, points the domain to the server where your website lives. Another, called an MX record, sends email for that domain to your mail provider. Changes usually take effect within a few hours, and you can update them whenever you need. Until you set these records, the domain is registered but leads nowhere.

Who sets the domain rules?

ICANN sets the domain rules for generic extensions such as .com and .org. ICANN is a non-profit organisation that coordinates domain names worldwide. It decides which extensions exist, approves the registries that run them and accredits the registrars that sell names. Country code extensions are different. Each one is run by a national registry that writes its own rules, which is why .uk and .de have different conditions. Registrars must follow these rules too, so the same basic protections apply wherever you register.

What is the difference between a domain and a website?

A domain is the address, and a website is what people find at that address. The domain is only a name, such as example.com. The website is the pages, images and files, and these are stored on a server through a service called web hosting. You need both for a site to work. You register the domain with a registrar, rent hosting from a provider, and then connect the two. You can change hosting provider at any time and keep the same domain.

What is the difference between a domain and a URL?

A domain is the name of a website, and a URL is the full address of one specific page on it. Take https://ilkari.tech/services/ as an example. The domain is ilkari.tech. The URL is the whole line, including the https at the start and the /services/ at the end, which tells the browser exactly which page to open. One domain can hold thousands of URLs. So every URL contains a domain, but a domain on its own is only one part of a URL.

Can you transfer a domain to another registrar?

Yes, you can transfer a domain to another registrar, and you keep the same name. First you unlock the domain at your current registrar and ask for an authorisation code. Then you give that code to the new registrar, which starts the transfer. It usually takes five to seven days. For most generic extensions, such as .com, the transfer adds one year to your registration. Your website and email keep working during the move, as long as the DNS records stay the same.

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