What is a domain name?

A domain name is a string of text that maps to a numeric IP address, used to access a website from a browser. A domain name is the text that a user types into a browser window to reach a particular website. For instance, the domain name for Google is ‘google.com’.

The actual address of a website is a complex numerical IP address (e.g. 103.21.244.0), but thanks to DNS, users are able to enter human-friendly domain names and be routed to the websites they are looking for. This process is known as a DNS lookup.

What’s the difference between a domain name and a URL?

A uniform resource locator (URL), sometimes called a web address, contains the domain name of a site as well as other information, including the transfer protocol and the path. For example, in the URL ‘https://cloudflare.com/learning/’, ‘cloudflare.com’ is the domain name, while ‘https’ is the protocol and ‘/learning/’ is the path to a specific page on the website.

What are the parts of a domain name?

Domain names are typically broken up into two or three parts, each separated by a dot. When read right-to-left, the identifiers in domain names go from most general to most specific. The section to the right of the last dot in a domain name is the top-level domain (TLD). These include the ‘generic’ TLDs such as ‘.com’, ‘.net’, and ‘.org’, as well as country-specific TLDs like ‘.uk’ and ‘.jp’.

To the left of the TLD is the second-level domain (2LD) and if there is anything to the left of the 2LD, it is called the third-level domain (3LD). Let’s look at a couple of examples:

For Google’s US domain name, ‘google.com’:

• ’.com’ is the TLD (most general)

• ’google’ is the 2LD (most specific)

But for Google UK’s domain name, ‘google.co.uk’:

• ’.com’ is the TLD (most general)

• ’.co’* is the 2LD

• ’google’ is the 3LD (most specific)

*In this case, the 2LD indicates the type of organization that registered the domain (.co in the UK is for sites registered by companies).

The W3C is a global organisation which develop open standards to ensure the growth of the web. It was founded by Tim Berners-Lee. It has 423 members and provides a forum for discussion and education about the web. The ITU works with W3C. Examples of how the W3C contributes to web standards are listed below. 

• Promotes compatibility of HTML by different vendors. The aim of this is to ensure that all webpages can be viewed using a variety of web browser and that the page will look the same within different browsers. 

• A significant set of standards for programming has been developed through W3C and are in use globally. Standards set by the organisation include: 

– CGI – Common Gateway Interface, a protocol for web servers to interface with CGI scripts; 

– CSS – Cascading Style Sheets a standard for describing how HTML elements are to be displayed onscreen; 

– HTML – Hypertext Mark-up Language is the standard mark-up language for creating web pages;

 – XML – Extensible Mark-up Language a software and hardware independent tool for storing and transporting data. 

An intranet is a network communication system based on TCP/IP protocol which belongs to a company or organisation. An intranet can only be accessed by authorised members of the organisation. It can be limited to a local area network (LAN) or can be accessed from a remote location over the Internet, possibly using a virtual private network, where a username and password is required.

 The main functions of an intranet are to: 

• provide tools which facilitate collaboration and communication between employees. For example, project management software, calendars, timelines, email; 

• enable file exchange and upload; 

• allow messages to be broadcast across the company; 

• provide information and learning opportunities for employees and so enhance employee engagement; 

• provide search functionality so that the relevant and most up-to-date information is available for decision making.

Intranets are becoming more sophisticated and their role and function within organisations is expanding. In the past an intranet was used for delivering content and some communication. Collaboration and activity is now the focus of a modern company intranet. On-line applications are provided within the intranet for use by employees for example, online forms, application forms, collaborative tools.

 This means that employees will use the intranet to complete part of their normal day to day work. The intranet has moved from being an ‘add-on’ to being an integrated part of the work flow within an organisation.