Understand how a domain name works

credit : recomhub.com

In its simplest form, the Internet is a collection of connected documents or objects. Hyperlinks are what connect these documents.
The Internet is a worldwide network that allows for information to be shared between users (also known as “nodes”). The World Wide Web is a subset of this that caters specifically to Web sites.
A hyperlink is a virtual link from one document on the World Wide Web to another. It includes the uniform resource locator (URL) of the linked-to document, which describes where on the Internet a document is. It is what you enter in the address bar of the browser because it is the address of that document on the Internet.
A URL provides information to both browsers and people. URLs include domain names, which translate to Internet protocol (IP) addresses. Every Web site corresponds to an Internet protocol (IP) address, which is a structured series of dots and numbers indicating where it is physically located. When you enter a URL into the address bar of a browser, the DNS record indicates where the document is that you are linking to. Many domains can translate to the same IP address.
Confused? Look at the domain name and IP address for Quirk’s Web site:
• Domain name. http://www.quirk.biz
• IP address. 212.100.243.204

A domain name looks something like this:
http://www.domainname.com
But a lot more information can be included in this. Domain names can carry the following information:

subdomain.domain.tld/directory
• Domain. The registered domain name of the Web site.
• Subdomain. A domain that is part of a larger domain.
• TLD. The top-level domain, uppermost in the hierarchy of domain names, also known as the domain extension.
• Directory. A folder to organize content.
The TLD can indicate the country in which a domain is registered and can also give information about the nature of the domain:
• .com. The most common TLD.
• .co.za, .co.uk, .com.au. These TLDs give country information.
• .org. Used by nonprofit organizations.
• .gov. Used by governments.
• .ac, .edu. Used by academic institutions.
Domain names must be registered, and there is a fee for doing so.