Technically speaking: What are the Components of a Website Address?

We discuss the similarities of URL’s, domain names and website addresses in our no-nonsense non-technical article ‘What is the Difference Between My URL, Domain Name, and Website?’  You are about to read a technical article on a similar subject.  It includes information that you probably never need to know.  We are writing this article for those that just need to know more.

So, technically speaking, a fully qualified business website address consists of the following:

   Access Protocol+Host Name+dot+Second Level Domain+dot+Top Level Domain

   http://+www+.+lookmaimonline+.+com

Or in our case, http://www.lookmaimonline.com

The dot separates the components of the website address.

The Access Protocol of your website address can be either:

            http:// = hypertext transfer protocol

https:// = hypertext protocol secure, used when the website is secure, usually an online retailer where one is giving credit card information.

The Host Name of your business website address will be:

www = World Wide Web

Additionally there are other host names including:

ftp = file transfer protocol

The Second Level Domain (SLD) of your business website address will be:

            whateveryoupicked = usually your company name without spaces

Although there are third level domains and fourth level domains and lower level domains, they are usually not used in a business website address.  Therefore, the definition of second level domain is appropriate for this discussion.

The Top Level Domain (TLD) is after the last dot in the URL and can be:   

.com    .co     .info    .net    .me    .biz    .org      and many more…

A domain name is like a nickname for the address of the server where your website is hosted.  The actual address is a bunch of numbers and dots, so a domain name is much easier to remember.  It does not need to include the access protocol.  It would be:

             www.whatereveryoupicked.com

The Uniform Resource Locator (URL) includes the access protocol and the domain name and would be:

             http://www.whateveryoupicked.com

There are many other articles on the internet that get much more technical.  This is as far as we go, but we invite you to search on any of the terms above to find out more.