A Domain Name is a series of alphanumeric strings separated by periods, such as http://www.aussieweb.biz , that is an address of a computer network connection and that identifies the owner of the address.

The Domain Name example given is a top level domain name. Each top level domain name can have many sub-domains. For example the Chat Room is a sub-domain of this site.

The acronym ‘http’ (sometimes ‘https’) stands for hyper text transfer protocol. Quite often these days it is deleted, so the domain name would just appear as:
www.aussieweb.biz

The next acronym ‘www’ of course is an abbreviation of the ‘World Wide Web’, and this will generally appear in most domain names.

The next part of the domain name ‘aussieweb’ is the name that you choose to have registered. That is of course if someone does not have it already. But, if you do a search and you find it is already taken, then all is not lost, because that domain name may be available with different extensions.

Finally we have the suffix at the end of the domain name. (extensions referred to above) In the example given, it is of course ‘biz’. But other suffixes which are available are com, net, info, org, ws or name. There are several others also.

How does one obtain a domain name? Well there is an international registry of domain names, so that the same name can not be issued twice. So, step one is to decide on the domain name that you think you may like to have. The second step is to complete a search. This search will cost you nothing at all, and will take a few seconds only. By clicking on the link below, you will be taken to the home page of Ian McKenzie’s Domains. There you will see a search box. Simply type in the name you want and click on the ‘search’ button.

A new screen will soon appear letting you know if the name you have searched for is available or not. If it is not, a list of alternatives close to the name you wanted will be given to you.

Alternatively, if you would like to see a table of Ian McKenzie’s Domain Names pricing for different extensions and periods of time, I have them on a table on another site. Just click on the link to go there.

By registering your domain name with Ian McKenzie’s Domains, you are getting a very competitive price. Most domain name registrations will cost you less than $10 a year.

Some domain name extensions are specific to particular countries. For example “us, uk, au, nz”. To use those specific extensions, generally you will need to have proof that you have a business in that particular country. An exception is the “ws” extension. That extension was originally allocated to the country of Western Samoa. Western Samoa decided to make it available to anyone, (with Western Samoa making some money on each sale of course). Sales of that domain name extension have now become an important part of the economy of that relatively small country. If you purchase a “ws” extension, think of it as standing for “Web Site” and not “Western Samoa”.

Below I have listed a price comparison of three other domain name registrants. Compare for yourself. The extensions in this table are available to anyone anywhere in the world.

The prices listed for Ian McKenzie’s Domains extensions are for one year periods. For extended periods, the price per year is discounted even more. You can pay for up to ten years and gain significant savings. Generally I purchase domain names for a two year period. Go to Ian McKenzie’s Domains for details.