What is a domain name?

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A domain name is a combination of letters and characters, together with a domain extension, that can be used as the basis of your web address and email address. So netsecrets.co.uk is a domain name; both www.netsecrets.co.uk and login.netsecrets.co.uk are web addresses and info@netsecrets.co.uk and sales@netsecrets.co.uk are email addresses.

What characters can be used?

Domain names can ONLY include the letters a to z, the numbers 0 to 9 and the hyphen (-), nothing else. No spaces, underscores (_), etc. Email addresses can also use underscore and full stop before the @, e.g. john_smith@netsecrets.co.uk would be valid, as would john.smith@netsecrets.co.uk or john-smith@netsecrets.co.uk.

Domain name extensions

There are many domain name extensions, global ones like .com, .net, .org, .info and .biz;; UK domains such as .co.uk, .org.uk and national domains for all nations on the planet, .fr, .de, .jp, .it, etc. There is also a specific .eu domain for European businesses. There are some national domains that have taken on a global significance, for instance the national domain of Tuvalu in the South Pacific, .tv, is used globally by multimedia and television companies. The .ws domain of Western Samoa is used globally as an acronym of "website". There is more information on these variations on our pricing page.

Making use of your domain name

When you register a domain name you have control of it but you cannot yet make use of it. To create a web site or use it for email you need web hosting. You can also call us for advice on how best to put your domain name to use.

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