Glossary of Domain & Web Hosting Terms

Domain Name Glossary

TLD (Top-Level Domain): The last part of a domain name, such as .com, .net, .org, .io.
ccTLD (Country Code Top-Level Domain): Two-letter domain extensions assigned to countries, like .us (USA), .uk (United Kingdom), .ca (Canada).
gTLD (Generic Top-Level Domain): A broader category of domain extensions not tied to a location, like .info, .biz, .tech, .online.
Domain Registrar: A company that provides domain name registration services, such as GoDaddy, Namecheap, Google Domains.
WHOIS Lookup: A tool that allows users to check domain registration details, including the owner, registrar, and expiration date.
Domain Forwarding: A setting that redirects one domain to another website or URL.
Subdomain: A division of a domain, such as blog.example.com, where “blog” is the subdomain.

Shared Hosting: A hosting plan where multiple websites share the same server resources. Best for small websites and blogs.
VPS (Virtual Private Server): A private section of a server offering more control and dedicated resources than shared hosting.
Dedicated Server: A hosting service where an entire server is allocated to a single website, offering maximum performance.
Cloud Hosting: A scalable hosting solution using multiple connected servers to ensure uptime and speed.
SSL Certificate: A security feature that encrypts data sent between a website and its visitors, displayed as HTTPS in the browser.
Bandwidth: The amount of data transferred between the website and visitors, affecting site speed and hosting costs.
Uptime: The percentage of time a website is online and accessible (e.g., 99.9% uptime means the site is down only 0.1% of the time).

Keyword Domain: A domain that includes a target search keyword, such as BestLaptops.com for ranking in laptop searches.
Exact Match Domain (EMD): A domain that exactly matches a common search query (e.g., BuyShoesOnline.com).
Domain Authority (DA): A metric developed by Moz to estimate how well a website will rank in search engines.
Backlinks: Links from other websites pointing to your domain, helping with SEO rankings.
301 Redirect: A permanent redirect from one domain or URL to another, preserving SEO value.
Google Sandbox: A theoretical filter that temporarily limits the rankings of new domains in Google’s search results.

Domain Flipping: The practice of buying domains at a low price and selling them for profit.
Premium Domain: A domain name that is highly valuable due to its length, keywords, or brandability.
Aftermarket Domain: A previously registered domain being resold, often at a higher price.
Domain Auction: A marketplace where buyers bid on domain names, often after they have expired or been resold.
Drop Catching: The process of registering an expired domain as soon as it becomes available again.
Cybersquatting: Registering a domain to profit from someone else’s trademark or brand.