How valuable can an top domain be?
One of the most essential preconditions for setting up a successful web presence is the domain. It is what visitors will discern first when they chance upon your web page and what they will link you with. The domain should be easy to remember, but should also be something that tells your website's visitors what the website is about.
Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs)
A domain typically consists of two components - a Top-Level Domain Name (TLD) and a Second-Level Domain (SLD). If you have domain.com, for instance, ".com" is the TLD and "domain" is the SLD. There are several groups of Top-Level Domain Names that you should contemplate before you select the domain you wish. Your decision should depend on the intention of your website and on its target viewers. Let's have a peek at the gTLDs, or generic TLDs - these are the most widespread Top-Level Domain Names aimed to show a specific intention - .com (commercial entities), .net (network infrastructures), .biz (companies), .info (informative sites), .org (organizations), .mobi (handheld devices), .asia (the Asia-Pacific), .name (individuals or relatives), .pro (particular professions), etc. As you can see, these Top-Level Domain Names encompass most realms of life, so you should select the one that would show the aim of your site best. There is no restriction as to who can register such TLDs, but some of them include extra steps to ascertain that you qualify to possess such a Top-Level Domain (.mobi and .pro, for example).
Country-code Top-Level Domains (ccTLDs)
The ccTLDs, or country-code Top-Level Domain Names, are country-specific domains. Each country has its own ccTLD. Choosing such a Top-Level Domain Name is good if your target group of website visitors is from a certain country. Many persons would prefer to buy commodities or services from a local site, and if your aim is Canada, for instance, getting a .ca TLD could increase the visits to your website.
URL Redirection
You can register different Top-Level Domain Names, which can send your web page's visitors to a specific website such as domain.com, for example. This would boost the traffic and decrease the probability of somebody snatching your web site visitors by registering the same Second-Level Domain with another Top-Level Domain - if you are not using a trademark.
Name Servers (NSs)
Each and every TLD has domain name records. The name server records (NS records, also known as DNS records) specify where the domain is hosted, in other words they point to the web hosting supplier whose name servers (NSs, aka DNSs) it is utilizing now. You can substitute the name servers of your domain at any moment. You can have your domain name registered with one provider and get the web hosting service itself from another. Hence, if you register your domain name and encounter good website hosting solutions someplace else later, you can point your domain to the present company's DNSs instantly.
Name Server Records (NS Records)
In general, as long as your domain uses a particular pair of DNSs, all its domain records will lead to the same webspace hosting provider. Some web site hosting suppliers, however, permit you to edit certain domain name records, including the A records and the MX records of your domain name. The A record is an IP address, which designates on which web hosting server your site is located, whereas the MX records indicate which hosting server handles the email accounts associated with your domain name. For instance, if you take on a new website designer and he constructs an .ASP web site that will be accommodated on his private Windows hosting server, you may wish to alter solely the Internet Protocol address (the A record) but not the MX records of your domain. Thus, www.domain.com will point to the Windows web hosting server, but your electronic mails or any sub-domains like forum.domain.com or shop.domain.com will still be in your present Linux web hosting account. The .ASP platform is built by Microsoft and requests a Windows hosting server, although a Linux web hosting server would be far more secure.
Cheap Domains Supplied by 'Net For Africa'
Only a number of web hosting suppliers enable you to modify specific records and very frequently this an additional paid service. With Net For Africa , you get a vast collection of TLDs to choose from and you can modify all NS records or forward the domain names through a forwarding tool at no additional charge. For that reason, 'Net For Africa' would be your best choice when it comes to managing your domain name and to establishing a successful presence on the World Wide Web.