{"id":1200,"date":"2021-09-17T14:17:23","date_gmt":"2021-09-17T12:17:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dotinum.com\/blog\/?p=1200"},"modified":"2025-09-19T12:28:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T10:28:14","slug":"what-is-a-url-address-and-an-internet-domain-everything-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dotinum.com\/blog\/what-is-a-url-address-and-an-internet-domain-everything-you-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a URL and domain name? Complete beginner\u2019s guide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong>TL;DR<\/strong> Every website has a unique URL and domain name, but not everyone understands how they work. In this guide, we explain what a URL consists of, what domain names and extensions mean, how subdomains work, and why the difference between HTTP and HTTPS is crucial for online security.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<nav aria-label=\"Table of Contents\" class=\"wp-block-table-of-contents\"><ol><li><a class=\"wp-block-table-of-contents__entry\" href=\"https:\/\/dotinum.com\/blog\/what-is-a-url-address-and-an-internet-domain-everything-you-need-to-know\/#what-does-a-url-consist-of\">What does a URL consist of?<\/a><\/li><li><a class=\"wp-block-table-of-contents__entry\" href=\"https:\/\/dotinum.com\/blog\/what-is-a-url-address-and-an-internet-domain-everything-you-need-to-know\/#internet-domain\">Internet domain<\/a><\/li><li><a class=\"wp-block-table-of-contents__entry\" href=\"https:\/\/dotinum.com\/blog\/what-is-a-url-address-and-an-internet-domain-everything-you-need-to-know\/#what-is-an-extension\">What is an extension?<\/a><\/li><li><a class=\"wp-block-table-of-contents__entry\" href=\"https:\/\/dotinum.com\/blog\/what-is-a-url-address-and-an-internet-domain-everything-you-need-to-know\/#domains-and-subdomains\">Domains and subdomains<\/a><\/li><li><a class=\"wp-block-table-of-contents__entry\" href=\"https:\/\/dotinum.com\/blog\/what-is-a-url-address-and-an-internet-domain-everything-you-need-to-know\/#linking-to-pages-in-the-url\">Linking to pages in the URL<\/a><\/li><li><a class=\"wp-block-table-of-contents__entry\" href=\"https:\/\/dotinum.com\/blog\/what-is-a-url-address-and-an-internet-domain-everything-you-need-to-know\/#domain-names-vs-security\">Domain names vs. security<\/a><\/li><li><a class=\"wp-block-table-of-contents__entry\" href=\"https:\/\/dotinum.com\/blog\/what-is-a-url-address-and-an-internet-domain-everything-you-need-to-know\/#the-http-and-https-internet-protocols\">The http and https internet protocols<\/a><\/li><li><a class=\"wp-block-table-of-contents__entry\" href=\"https:\/\/dotinum.com\/blog\/what-is-a-url-address-and-an-internet-domain-everything-you-need-to-know\/#url-address-and-the-website-s-safety\">URL address and the website&#8217;s safety<\/a><\/li><li><a class=\"wp-block-table-of-contents__entry\" href=\"https:\/\/dotinum.com\/blog\/what-is-a-url-address-and-an-internet-domain-everything-you-need-to-know\/#summary\">Summary<\/a><\/li><li><a class=\"wp-block-table-of-contents__entry\" href=\"https:\/\/dotinum.com\/blog\/what-is-a-url-address-and-an-internet-domain-everything-you-need-to-know\/#faq\">FAQ<\/a><ol><li><a class=\"wp-block-table-of-contents__entry\" href=\"https:\/\/dotinum.com\/blog\/what-is-a-url-address-and-an-internet-domain-everything-you-need-to-know\/#what-is-the-difference-between-a-url-and-a-domain-name-a-url-uniform-resource-locator-is-the-full-web-address-used-to-access-a-resource-online-while-a-domain-name-is-just-one-part-of-the-url-the-unique-name-that-identifies-a-website\">What is the difference between a URL and a domain name?A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the full web address used to access a resource online, while a domain name is just one part of the URL \u2013 the unique name that identifies a website.<\/a><\/li><li><a class=\"wp-block-table-of-contents__entry\" href=\"https:\/\/dotinum.com\/blog\/what-is-a-url-address-and-an-internet-domain-everything-you-need-to-know\/#what-is-a-subdomain\">What is a subdomain?<\/a><\/li><li><a class=\"wp-block-table-of-contents__entry\" href=\"https:\/\/dotinum.com\/blog\/what-is-a-url-address-and-an-internet-domain-everything-you-need-to-know\/#why-is-https-more-secure-than-http\">Why is HTTPS more secure than HTTP?<\/a><\/li><li><a class=\"wp-block-table-of-contents__entry\" href=\"https:\/\/dotinum.com\/blog\/what-is-a-url-address-and-an-internet-domain-everything-you-need-to-know\/#does-every-website-need-an-ssl-certificate\">Does every website need an SSL certificate?<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/li><\/ol><\/nav>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&nbsp;<\/span>Knowledge of concepts related to <b>URL addresses and domains is important for business purposes<\/b>. Choosing a name, a domain extension and a URL that are attractive from the marketing standpoint has an impact on the perception of the offer by potential clients.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Be sure to watch the guide \u201cWhat is a URL and an Internet domain?\u201d on our YouTube channel:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"what-does-a-url-consist-of\"><a name=\"bookmark0\"><\/a><a name=\"bookmark1\"><\/a><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><b>What does a URL consist of?<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a name=\"_GoBack\"><\/a> <span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\">A URL address, also known as a website address, is the text visible in the address bar of a web browser (e.g. Chrome, Firefox, etc.). It redirects Internet users to specific content made available on the server of a given website&#8217;s administrator. For example, by typing in the URL <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dotinum.com\/blog\/how-to-speed-up-wordpress-website-6-tips\/\"><u>https:\/\/dotinum.com\/blog\/how-to-speed-up-wordpress-website-6-tips\/<\/u><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span>, <span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\">we open the content of an article titled \u201cHow to speed up WordPress website \u2013 6 tips\u201d.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\">It&#8217;s worth knowing that a URL consists of several elements:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li> <span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\">The name of the protocol handling the access to the website: http or https.<\/span><\/span> <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li> <span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\">The subdomain name (optional): there can be more than one subdomain and they are separated by a comma, for blog.<\/span><\/span> <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li> <span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\">The domain name, for example domeny.tv (.tv is the extension of the national domain of Tuvalu).<\/span><\/span> <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li> <span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\">Name of the referenced resource, separated from the domain name by a slash, for example \/creative-descriptive-name\/ (pl. \/kreatywna-nazwa-opisowa\/).<\/span><\/span> <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\">Depending on the settings of the so-called direct links on a given website, a URL can have different variants. Most often, this name refers to the content published on the website, although this rule is not always followed.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"internet-domain\"><a name=\"bookmark2\"><\/a><a name=\"bookmark3\"><\/a><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><b>Internet domain<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><b>The domain name <\/b>is a unique text that we choose at the time of registration. This name is related to the company&#8217;s activity, the name of the person preferring to use their personal brand in contacts with customers, or our interests.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\">When registering a domain name, we actually decide to lease it, because we do not become its owners. We will be able to use it as long as we remember to renew it. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\">We also need to evaluate the name in terms of marketing. It should be as short as possible and easy to spell (e.g. over the phone).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"what-is-an-extension\"><a name=\"bookmark4\"><\/a><a name=\"bookmark5\"><\/a><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><b>What is an extension?<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><b>The extension <\/b>that accompanies each domain name is called a <b>Top-Level Domain (TLD<\/b>). It is the part of the address that can always be found after the dot that follows the name. <b>A Top-Level domain <\/b>is an Internet domain above which no other domains exist in the Domain Name System (DNS)<b>.<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"domains-and-subdomains\"><a name=\"bookmark6\"><\/a><a name=\"bookmark7\"><\/a><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><b>Domains and subdomains<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><b>The DNS domain name system <\/b>is hierarchical. It allows you to create <b>subdomains<\/b>. A subdomain is an internet address created within an existing domain. It allows you to create new pages that may relate to other activities of the website, for example: a blog, discussion board or online store. A popular example of a subdomain is the frequently used www prefix at the very beginning of the URL. We can already guess that in addition to the top-level domains, we can also distinguish:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><b>Second-level domains <\/b>&#8211; a domain located below a top-level one. In Poland, an example of a second-level domain is .com.pl (once commonly used by companies, currently much less popular). A second-level domain will most likely be the domain that you choose to register for yourself or your company.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><b>Third- and fourth-level domains <\/b>follow second-level domains, for example in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.blog.domeny.tv\/\">www.blog.domeny.tv<\/a>, blog is the third-level domain, and www is the fourth-level domain. Some of you may remember the times when every URL had to begin with www. This acronym refers to the name of the World Wide Web content sharing service.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"linking-to-pages-in-the-url\"><a name=\"bookmark8\"><\/a><a name=\"bookmark9\"><\/a><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><b>Linking to pages in the URL<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"950\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/dotinum.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Linking-to-pages-in-the-URL.png\" alt=\"Linking to pages in the URL\" class=\"wp-image-1201\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dotinum.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Linking-to-pages-in-the-URL.png 950w, https:\/\/dotinum.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Linking-to-pages-in-the-URL-300x202.png 300w, https:\/\/dotinum.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Linking-to-pages-in-the-URL-768x517.png 768w, https:\/\/dotinum.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Linking-to-pages-in-the-URL-534x360.png 534w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 950px) 100vw, 950px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\">At the very end of the URL (after the name of the subdomain and the domain, together with its extension), separated by slashes (\u201c\/\u201d), you will find a path that starts after the domain extension<span style=\"color: #000000;\">. <\/span><b>The path is most often a sequence of pages separated by a slash that redirects the user to specific content. <\/b>I have shown examples of different ways of defining this path earlier in Figure 1.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\">On our Domeny.tv blog we have adopted the rule that the path that follows the domain name, refers to the title of the article, for example: <span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.domeny.tv\/creative-descriptive-name\/\">https:\/\/blog.domeny.tv\/creative-descriptive-name\/<\/a>).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\">The above-mentioned path consists of:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><b>Protocol name:\/\/subdomain name.domain name.extension\/path to the article page<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"domain-names-vs-security\"><a name=\"bookmark10\"><\/a><a name=\"bookmark11\"><\/a><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><b>Domain names vs. security<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\">I have shown you how URLs are structured. Knowing how URL addresses are built is crucial for Internet users, especially when it comes to security. The most important rule to follow is checking the domain name that a given link redirects to.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\">Websites dealing with the subject of online security are full of examples of how criminals (so- called hackers) take advantage of the lack of knowledge of some users. Figure 2 shows how hackers tried to impersonate a bank (article on Niebezpiecznik.pl about a fake social media campaign)<span style=\"font-size: small;\">.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><b>Figure 2 <\/b><\/span><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Methods of impersonating a bank by manipulating URL addresses. Source: Someone has been attacking clients of the Millennium bank on Facebook<\/span>,<a href=\"https:\/\/niebezpiecznik.pl\/post\/ktos-od-miesiaca-atakuje-klientow-millennium-na-facebooku\/\"> <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><u>https:\/\/niebezpiecznik.pl\/post\/ktos-od-<\/u><\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><u> <a href=\"https:\/\/niebezpiecznik.pl\/post\/ktos-od-miesiaca-atakuje-klientow-millennium-na-facebooku\/\">miesiaca-atakuje-klientow-millennium-na-facebooku\/<\/a><\/u><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/niebezpiecznik.pl\/post\/ktos-od-miesiaca-atakuje-klientow-millennium-na-facebooku\/\"><u>,<\/u><\/a> accessed on 2021-04-30<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\">Of course, none of the addresses belong to the bank, whose website uses the .pl extension. In this case, the criminals redirected users to various sites with the extensions: .host, .fun, .ly, .site. They also included the bank&#8217;s name in the section of the address (after a slash) that redirected users to malicious content on their scamming site.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-http-and-https-internet-protocols\"><a name=\"bookmark12\"><\/a><a name=\"bookmark13\"><\/a><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><b>The http and https internet protocols<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\">The very beginning of a URL address contains the name of the protocol used to handle the connection with the server where the website resides. The protocol makes it possible to send content from the server to our browser and back (for example when we order products in our favourite online shop). We can distinguish two standards:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><b>http <\/b>&#8211; a protocol supporting an unencrypted connection between the browser or server and the website.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\">The abbreviation used in the name of the protocol comes from its English name: Hypertext Transfer Protocol. A website using this protocol is usually marked as \u201cunsecure\u201d by browsers.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><b>https <\/b>&#8211; a protocol supporting an encrypted connection between the browser or server and the website.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\">The letter \u201cs\u201d added to the name (security) indicates the safety of the connection. Communication is encrypted using the SSL protocol, based on a certificate issued for a given domain name. An encrypted connection is marked with a padlock in the browser&#8217;s address bar. However, this symbol does not mean that every page using an encrypted connection is reliable and safe.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"url-address-and-the-website-s-safety\"><a name=\"bookmark14\"><\/a><a name=\"bookmark15\"><\/a><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><b>URL address and the website&#8217;s safety<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\">The unencrypted http protocol can only be used for public content, for example for simple company websites, the so-called \u201cbusiness cards\u201d that don&#8217;t even include a contact form for potential customers. Communication with such website can be intercepted at every stage of the transmission, and thus its content can be completely taken over.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\">That is why I strongly advise against logging into websites that use the http protocol. It is especially not recommended to use http with website administration panels, including the popular WordPress CMS (a typical panel address has the following form: domain\/wp-admin).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\">The encrypted https protocol, as I mentioned above, provides encryption of communication and should be a widely respected standard for websites. Confidential, i.e. encrypted communication, ensures the safety of data when we log into a website (it is impossible to intercept the login and password in a simple manner), but also when we type in something when using it, for example when we purchase our favourite products in an online shop or when we input our data in a contact form.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\">However, not every page with a \u201cpadlock\u201d is safe and reliable. <b>The popular \u201cpadlock\u201d is a necessary security condition, but it does not ensure safety. <\/b>You have to pay close attention to <b>the entire URL <\/b>and the domain you are actually connecting to.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\">In Figure 2, I have shown examples of manipulation with the use of various types of URL addresses. It should be emphasised that all these addresses were using the https protocol, i.e. the one with the padlock. The SSL certificate can be even issued for free, for any domain, if the applicant has access rights to it. Therefore, criminals often use it for the domains they register, on the one hand, to make communication more reliable, on the other, to make it harder for simpler security systems to detect a threat.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"summary\"><a name=\"bookmark16\"><\/a><a name=\"bookmark17\"><\/a><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><b>Summary<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\">Knowledge of how a hierarchical domain system and URL address is built is needed not only to be able to efficiently function in the digital world &#8211; it is also crucial when administrating websites (for example using WordPress).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\">It becomes particularly important when assessing the credibility of websites, as criminals very often manipulate URLs in order to impersonate various institutions and companies (including those from the financial industry).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"faq\">FAQ<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"what-is-the-difference-between-a-url-and-a-domain-name-a-url-uniform-resource-locator-is-the-full-web-address-used-to-access-a-resource-online-while-a-domain-name-is-just-one-part-of-the-url-the-unique-name-that-identifies-a-website\"><strong>What is the difference between a URL and a domain name?<\/strong><span id=\"docs-internal-guid-66244e3a-7fff-00d2-e69e-a256152b81a3\" style=\"font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;\">A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the full web address used to access a resource online, while a domain name is just one part of the URL \u2013 the unique name that identifies a website.<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"what-is-a-subdomain\"><strong>What is a subdomain?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A subdomain is a prefix added before a domain name (e.g., blog.example.com). It allows you to create separate sections of a website, like a blog, shop, or support portal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"why-is-https-more-secure-than-http\"><strong>Why is HTTPS more secure than HTTP?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">HTTPS encrypts communication between the browser and the server using an SSL certificate. This makes it much harder for attackers to steal login data or sensitive information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"does-every-website-need-an-ssl-certificate\"><strong>Does every website need an SSL certificate?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes. Even small business websites and blogs should use HTTPS to improve user trust, protect data, and rank better in Google search results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author\"><div class=\"wp-block-post-author__avatar\"><img alt='' src='https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5c8ab8e275fda9a05067c86ad1d766b9e3ef89ae02055ef6787d25309db6a02f?s=96&#038;d=mm&#038;r=g' srcset='https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5c8ab8e275fda9a05067c86ad1d766b9e3ef89ae02055ef6787d25309db6a02f?s=192&#038;d=mm&#038;r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-96 photo' height='96' width='96' \/><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-post-author__content\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-author__byline\">Written by<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-post-author__name\">Agnieszka Pawlak<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-post-author__bio\">Marketing and graphic specialist in Dotinum. 5 years in marketing, over 10 in the graphic field. Outside Dotinum she curates content for 4 other brands. Loves games, reading, and baking.<\/p><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>TL;DR Every website has a unique URL and domain name, but not everyone understands how they work. In this guide, we explain what a URL consists of, what domain names and extensions mean, how subdomains work, and why the difference between HTTP and HTTPS is crucial for online security. &nbsp;Knowledge of concepts related to URL [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":1202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[22,127,53,126,125],"class_list":["post-1200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-domains","tag-htto","tag-https","tag-security","tag-url"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What is a URL and domain name? Complete beginner\u2019s guide - Blog Dotinum.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Knowledge of concepts related to URL address and domains is important for business purposes.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dotinum.com\/blog\/what-is-a-url-address-and-an-internet-domain-everything-you-need-to-know\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is a URL and domain name? 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