Vocabulary Practice: Domains

Read the text again and answer the questions with some of the words in bold.

A domain name is your website’s unique address on the Internet. The Domain Name System (DNS) organizes and caches domains. DNS uses numeric Internet Protocol (IP) addresses to assign domains to particular servers. When you enter a URL into your browser, the DNS system locates the server that the website is stored on and then translates the IP address into a name that can easily be remembered. You could forget a sequence of numbers, but you probably won’t forget a name.

Domains have a hierarchy similar to that of a tree root. Simply put, each main branch of the root is a domain. Branches extending from the main branch are subdomains – web pages which belong to that domain.
To get legal ownership of a domain you need to register it. Do a domain search to see what kind of domain names are available. If the name you want is taken, try using a different extension. Some of the most popular top-level domain (TLD) extensions include:

.com – unrestricted registration
.gov – restricted to government agencies
.org –used by charities or NGOs
.biz – used by businesses
.edu – for higher education institutions

A good domain name can help drive traffic to your website. Pick a short, catchy, and easy to type name so that visitors can recognize. The closer the domain name is connected with your line of business, the easier it will be to promote your website.