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Definition of a domain name

What is a domain name

A domain name is an address like yourcompany.extension. Once chosen, it will become your identity on the Internet and will allow the public to consult your website.

You will also be able to receive and send e-mails in the form of vous@nomdedomaine.tld if you subscribe to an Office 365 offer or any other formula allowing you to create e-mail addresses.

Registering your domain name makes it your property whether you are a company or an individual for your personal website.
To avoid unpleasant surprises, it can be interesting to register your domain name under several extensions to prevent another entity from using the same name as you.

A domain name is unique and conveys your name, your image to Internet users, your customers and your prospects.

Why use a domain name?

  • Allows you to have a site in your name and personalized emails
  • To make your site more professional and independent
  • For easier and faster access
  • Allows you to protect your brand and your company name

Choose your extension

  • .fr : Extension for individuals and companies in France
  • .com : Extension for commercial sites
  • .net : Extension adapted to sites specialized in the Internet domain
  • .org : Extension specially adapted to non commercial organizations and can be an excellent alternative if your name is no longer available in .com or .net
  • .info : Extension specially adapted to information sites
  • .biz : Extension for commercial sites
  • .eu : Extension for individuals and companies in the European Union
  • .be : Extension for individuals and companies in Belgium

Rules to respect

The maximum length is officially 63 characters per sub-domain, but it is recommended to never exceed 59 characters for compatibility with some browsers.

The minimum length of a domain is two characters.

The characters that can be used are the letters of the Latin alphabet from "a" to "z", the numbers from "0" to "9" and the symbol "-" (dash). This last symbol must not be placed before the .tld ending.

Other symbols such as periods, slashes, asterisks, question marks, etc. are not allowed.

Updated on 21 November 2022

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