In the last article I had talked about different domain extensions like .com, .net,.org, .biz, .info, .in, .us and the like. These different domain extensions give the users a better choice for choosing their domain name.

The comprehensive list (referred as database) of the domain names registered under a particular extension is maintained centrally by a company known as “Registry”. This control had to be centralised otherwise there would be duplicacy of domain names. And this would not possible otherwise when you type www.google.com in Internet Explorer (referred as Browser) on your computer, your computer wouldn’t know which google.com to go to.

Each domain extension is managed by a separate Registry. Given below are some of the domain extensions and their corresponding registries.

There is another company called ICANN (Internet Coporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) that has overall responsibility for managing the domain name system. ICANN in turn has delegated control of each Domain Extension to the registry.

The registries DO NOT sell to end consumers directly. The registry sells domain names through companies known as “Registrars”. Some of the popular registrars that some of you might have heard of are:

1. GoDaddy (www.godaddy.com)
2. eNom (www.enom.com)
3. Tucows (www.tucows.com)
4. Network Solutions (www.networksolutions.com)
5. DirectI (www.directi.com)

If you as a customer need to register a new domain name for your business or for your personal use you would typically follow the steps below:

1. Go to the website of the registrar

2. Search for your preferred domain name(s).

3. If available, register the domain name. That’s right, you can only register a particular domain name only if the same has not already been booked / purchased by another person / company.

Once you have registered your domain name, you have successfully taken the first step towards establishing your Internet identity.

The next article would tell you more about what domain name(s) you should register for your business.

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