3.1 Web site address

Select a Web site address (a domain name) for your site that is simple and meaningful.

The URL (uniform resource locator) is the standard way of specifying the location of a Web page, its Web address.

The 'domain name' of a Web site is the first part of the Web address. between http:// and the first /, for example:

• http://www.cafamily.org.uk/
• http://omni.ac.uk/

This 'domain name' is the unique name which identifies that organisation on the Internet. Its different sections are as follows:

• http means 'hypertext transfer protocol';
  
  
• punctuation, which separates the various components of the URL;
  
  
• www means world wide web. This is usually present but not always;
  
  
• first part, such as 'cafamily' or 'omni', is the part of the domain name that an organisation can choose. It cannot be currently in use by anyone else;
  
  
• codes representing the type of organisation and its country of origin.
  
  Common organisational codes (top level domains, TLDs) include:
  .com (for commercial organisations);
  .edu (for educational organisations);
  .gov (for governments);
  .org (for organisations, usually non-commercial).
  
  Country codes (country level domains) for example:
  no code (for the USA);
  .au (for Australia);
  .int (for international);
  .uk (for the UK).
  
  Second level codes (second level domains, SLDs) for example:
  .ac.uk (for educational organisations in the UK);
  .co.uk (for commercial organisations in the UK);
  .org.uk (for organisations, usually non-commercial, in the UK).

Most support groups would use .org.uk or .org.

You have to register your domain name with an accredited organisation. Only organisations accredited by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) can register domain names. A list of these accredited organisations is available as a link from the ICANN FAQs Web page (http://www.icann.org/en/faq/) [Opens in new browser window].

Nominet UK (http://www.nominet.org.uk) [Opens in new browser window] is the Registry for .uk Internet Domain Names. Nominet manages the second level domains within the UK.

You will have to pay to register so shop around for the cheapest price. If you can afford it, consider buying your name with a range of organisational codes (for example .org, .org.uk, .com, .co.uk) as people often make errors when typing in a Web address. These 'ghost' sites can be set to automatically link to your site. You have exclusive right to your domain name for the registration period.

You will have invested a lot of time and effort in marketing your site so remember to renew your registration. Check the price and conditions for renewal before you register.

However buying your domain name does not include Web space and this will have to be obtained from another source, for example any ISP (Internet Service Provider), or companies who register domain names and sell other services.

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© Copyright for this site is held by Contact a Family and the School of Computing, Engineering and Information Sciences, Northumbria University. Site published February 2003. Last updated September 2008. Review date September 2009.