A domain name is what you type in your browser to get to the website you want to visit, for example svt.se. The domain name works both as an address and an identity on the internet.
Also called: web address, internet address, domain
What is a domain name?
Behind each domain name hides a number combination, a so-called IP address, which is used by computers when they communicate with each other. The IP address consists of a series of numbers, but to make it easier for us humans to remember the address, we use the translation everyday: the domain name.
It works in much the same way that the telephone directory helped us link the right telephone number with the right person or company. When we enter a domain name in the browser, it is translated by the domain name system, DNS, into the IP address, which allows the computer to forward you to the server where the content of the website is located.
How to get a domain name
Many people think that it is possible to buy domain names, but this is not entirely correct. You are not the owner of the domain name, but when you have registered your domain name, you hold the court to use the domain name for as long as you want and pay for it. The domain needs to be renewed at regular intervals, the most common being once a year.
It is possible to register domain names under several different so-called top-level domains.
A top-level domain is the part that ends the domain name, ie that which is after the last dot in a domain name, for example .se or .com.
In Sweden, it is most common to have a domain name under the Swedish top-level domain .se which is managed by the organization The Internet Foundation. On their website you can search for available domain names. If you then want to register a .se domain name, please contact a dealer, a so-called registrar.
The domain name can then be used both to create, for example, a website and e-mail addresses, you can get help with how to do it from the reseller you choose.
