URL Structure: Parts of a Domain Name
Almost everyone who frequents the web knows the general structure of a website URL, but do you know each of the individual parts of a domain name? Luckily, website URLs aren’t too complex, atleast when it comes to understanding the various components at a surface level.
In this article, we’ll be walking you through each individual part of a domain name/website URL to help you get an understanding of the structure. Each part can play a role in both how your site is perceived and your user’s experience with your online presence. Some parts even have an impact on SEO – so be sure to consider how your URLs appear for your audience!
The Five Components
There are a total of five common parts that make up a domain name, though some are not used in every URL that you will come across. These five are listed below, followed by individual sections going into each of the parts in more detail.
- Protocol
- Subdomain
- Domain Name
- Page Path
- Queries
Protocol
The first component, commonly referred to as the protocol identifier, indicates the type of protocol that the web browser needs to use to request a resource from a server. There are many protocols that exist, but only a few commonly seen protocols. These can include:
- http: simple connection that links a web server and a browser.
- https: simple connection that operates similarly to http, yet provides further security to the user through a SSL (which encrypts user data and further protects personal data). https is crucial for online e-commerce websites in particular to ensure your customer's information is secure. They are also preferred by search engines over regular http.
- mailto: this is an email protocol often used to connect users to an email client.
- ftp: this is a 'file transfers protocol' (FTP) that allows users to transfer computer files to and from a server.
Example: https://one.exampledomain.com/directory/page?parameter1=value¶meter2=value
Subdomain
Following the protocol identifier are website subdomains, which are common, but not used on every website. Subdomains can be considered special directories to segment content on your website, while also indicating to users that they’re on a separate area of a website. They appear just before the domain name, followed by a dot (‘.’). Common examples of subdomains include:
- blog.domainname.com (for blog sections of a website)
- store.domainname.com (used for site’s with an e-commerce section)
- m.domainname.com (often identifies a mobile version of a website)
- remote.domainname.com (refers to remote access on a website)
Subdomains can be as extensive or specific as you wish, as they are created by whomever runs or manages the website domain and hosting. They can be a useful tool for larger websites with higher traffic and/or a lot of content. The 'www' in URLs are actually considered a subdomain, typically automatically created when setting up a websites hosting/domain (though, it isn't typically used to segment content).
Example: https://one.exampledomain.com/directory/page?parameter1=value¶meter2=value
Domain Name
Domain names can be broken down into two separate parts: the second-level domain and top-level domain.
Second-level Domain
The most familiar part of a website URL is the second-level domain (SLD). The SLD is the unique name attached to every website that is a user-choice string of characters that is often tied to the website’s content, brand, or message. The registrant (user registering the domain name) temporarily registers this name for a decided upon timeframe, which prevents users for registering that specific name under that top-level domain (TLD). There can only be one unique SLD + TLD combination, which makes some domains inherently valuable and the process of buying/selling domains and domain investing attractive.
Example: https://one.exampledomain.com/directory/page?parameter1=value¶meter2=value
Top-level Domain
The top-level domain (TLD) are the characters found just after the second level domain. Choosing a website’s TLD is an important decision for all new registrants, as it represents your brand or website’s content by providing additional context to a domain before users even arrive at your website. While some TLDs are more generic (meaning they are appliable to a vast majority of websites, such as the prominent .com), other TLDs can indicate what content to expect from a website (for example, .art used for artists, .games for game websites, .wine for wine-related websites etc.). There are also location-based TLDs (referred to as country code top-level domains, or ccTLDs in short), which can be beneficial for location-based businesses or organizations.
As older TLDs continue to become more saturated, other newer TLDs will likely start to see increased usage as well, so if there is a SLD you desire that is taken under a TLD of your choosing, you may want to research alternative TLDs. If you need assistance coming up with a domain name, you can use our domain name suggestion tool to help you come up with many ideas.
Example: https://one.exampledomain.com/directory/page?parameter1=value¶meter2=value
Page Path
Beyond the domain name, the URL path can be found. These characters refer to paths that point to specific files/directories on that website’s web server. They connect the browser with this data to load specific information for the end-user. A directory in the path can be considered like a folder, where the page can be consider the individual file within a URL. For example, on this blog post, there are two directories (‘community’ and ‘blog’), and the file in this case would be the individual blog: 'parts-of-a-domain-name'. Directories are not always found, as the page path doesn’t always need to be nestled into a folder.
Example: https://one.exampledomain.com/directory/page?parameter1=value¶meter2=value
Queries
On pages that are dynamic (allowing user engagement to alter page content), queries can often be found. They can be broken into two parts: the query itself, and the parameters found within in the query.
Query: Based on the user’s actions on dynamic pages, queries will modify the content of the page, typically connecting with a database to do so. The most common form is from user search, where the search itself become dynamically added to the page path in the URL. These queries begin with a question mark (‘?’) and contain one or more parameters. Another common example is on shopping websites that allow you to filter products, with the user's filtering selection appearing as a query in the URL.
Parameters: These queries are built with individual parameters which each serve unique functions depending on the parameters included. They can range from language translation to tracking data to filtering content based on what the user wants to see. These parameters can serve a variety of functions that often help user experience.
Example: https://one.exampledomain.com/directory/page?parameter1=value¶meter2=value
When it comes to parts of a domain name or URL, breaking them down into individual components doesn't make them seem near as complicated. If you do come across a particularly complicated URL, there is a high chance it is using a variety of parameters within a query. Hopefully this article will assist you while navigating the web and provides context to the various types of URLs you come across.