July 30,
2019June 7, 2022

Your Website Domain is Your Home on the Internet

Your Website Domain IS Your Address On The Internet Cover

A domain sounds complicated and technical but it’s simply the address of your home on the internet. Where your website is. Let’s compare the address of our website domain, 3catslabs.com and our address on 133 New Bridge Road in Singapore.

Domain Registrant: The Owner

You probably already know that domains aren’t free and need to be purchased. Domains are registered where they are purchased and paid for. The domain registrant is the same as the owner of the address. The owner pays a mortgage or rent to stay in a property. The domain registrant pays annually to use the domain name.

Of course you want to share your new internet address so people know about you and how to find your website. Now if I just told you 133 New bridge Road, that might not be very helpful. Why?

The address needs context, otherwise it could be located anywhere!

IP Addresses: Your Website Street Address

There is certainly a pair of longitude and latitude coordinates that correspond to the location of every address in the world. If someone asks where 3 Cats Labs is, we don’t tell them 1.2853554° N, 103.842875° E. We say 133 New Bridge Road.

There is a similar concept for your website domain. All domains are associated with IP addresses. The IP addresses act like the latitude and longitude to an address. It can be used to find the location, but it isn’t convenient or easy to remember. Would you prefer to tell your client 76.5.987.234 or mysite.com? I know we prefer directing people to 3catslabs.com.

DNS Records: A Map

What’s more helpful that latitude and longitude for finding where an address is in a city? A map!

That’s what your DNS Records are. When looking at a map you can see New bridge Road is a major thoroughfare when trying to orientate yourself.

The IP Address is part of your DNS Records, DNS Records provide more information than just your IP Address though. These records also associate your domain with email records so emails can be directed to @mysite.com, or in our case, @3catslabs.com.

Nameservers Are Like Areas

How do you know on what area 133 New Bridge Road is? It could be anywhere! Granted Singapore isn’t huge but it would still be time consuming to search a map scanning an area west to east and north to south.

If this were being written a century ago the directions given would be totally different.

Your DNS Records are hosted under a particular Nameserver. The name server tells the internet what area it should limit its search to in order to quickly find the location. Without a Nameserver the whole internet would be searched to find a single domain. Essentially, the way it works is that your Nameserver is identified and then the DNS Records direct where to go.

The DNS Admin Is the Property Manager

The DNS Administrator controls your records within the Nameserver. Your Namserver can change at anytime if given clearance by the Domain Registrant.

Going back to the analogy of owning or renting property. You pay your mortgage or rent so, as the Domain Registrant you can choose the Namersever, but the rest is up to the Namerserver.

To Sum Things Up

Domains have a Domain Registrant. The Domain Registrant is essentially a property owner who pays the bills.
Domains have Nameservers and Nameservers tell the internet what region or area in which your domain exists.
The Nameserver hosts your DNS Records. Domain Records contain your domain information. This includes your IP Address, MX records for email, and some other information. It all acts like reference points and a street address.
The IP Address is affiliated with your domain name. It’s like the latitude and longitude coordinates that would locate your address in a GPS system.

What Does This Mean For Your Website?

The internet knows how to find your website because it uses the Nameserver to find where it belongs and then the DNS Records that hold the technical information about the domain; the IP Address that gives a more specific location, and the domain name that allows users to easily find and visit your website.