You probably hear a lot of jargon being thrown about – such as domain, URL and IP – and not have a clue what anyone is on about. No, you have not had a stroke. These funny terms actually stand for basic Internet conventions that work together to make the World Wide Web as seamless and functional as possible.

IP
An IP or Internet Protocol is a way for computers communicate and access websites. Basically an IP address is a numerical code that allows information to be mapped to a specific computer.

Domain
A domain name is a way to identify an IP (Internet Protocol) address. It is the address of a website. Choosing the perfect domain name can be a drawn out process as many businesses see it as an important step towards the success of their webpage.

There is a hierarchy when it comes to a domain. This helps organisations such as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), to monitor the global database for domain names (DNS – Domain Name System). The most important part of any name is the Top Level Domain (TLD), which is the suffix of the address. Examples of TLDs are:
- .gov
- .com
- .edu
Second Level Domains (SLDs) are found to the immediately lefts of TLDs. Third Level Domains are directly lefts of SLDs and so on.

ICANN’s duty is to make sure that each registered domain is distinctive. They also see to it that each domain maps correctly to an exclusive IP (Internet Protocol) address. Because the Web is based on IP addresses and not domain names, it is essential that a DNS translates the domain name into a code that computers read as an address. The IP address informs computers on the Web as to the location of the host (or server) and the domain.

URL
A URL or Universal Resource Locator is also a type of address for websites, typically used by Internet browsers. A URL can be composed of the domain name or the IP address, both leading the surfer to a specific website.