a unique name that identifies your site on the World Wide Web.

It locates and connects your audience to your site. zenlogo.com is a domain name. (the "com" extension means the site name is registered with the global commercial oriented site registry).

Your name is your signpost on the Internet. Every website you've been to and every email you've sent has used a domain name in its address. Since all internet users access your website using your domain name,  your name is of the greatest importance. A name can be up to sixty-seven characters, but for a domain name, the shorter, the better. Ideally, your name is easily remembered. If its fresh and distinctive, so much the better. Ideally it has no extra dots, slashes or dashes that are confusing and hard to remember, verbalize and cause mistypes. If you're a corporation you want a name that is positive, marketable and promotable.

Technically, a domain name is the text name that corresponds to a number that is the IP address (Internet Point) of a website on the Internet. The DNS (Domain Name Service) translates the domain name into the IP address. The full 'address" of your site is called the URL, (short for Uniform Resource Locator). The URL for a site is comprised of the protocol, the web moniker and the domain name followed by the extension.

This sites URL is http://www.zenlogo.com

http://      -(HyperText Transfer Protocol) refers to the protocol used by the WWW.

www.      -connected to the World Wide Web

zenlogo      -unique domain name

.com      -the extension. There are many extensions like .org (organiation), .biz (business) .gov (government) and hundreds of country codes like .jp (Japan). While .com was intended for commercial interests, the .com extension has been embraced by all types of organizations seeking to convey a global identity and connection. .com is a 'top-level' domain name. zenlogo specializes in premium .com domains.

Domain names have to be registered. If you have an existing site and are upgrading your name or identity, it can take a number of days before a new domain name becomes active and propagates throughout the net (the Internet providers must update their DNS data to record a new sites location).

No one really owns a domain name. The 'owner' is the registrant who has paid a yearly fee (usually minimal) for the rights of usage of the name. The registrant, of course, has first rights on all renewals. In that way a Domain Name is something like a licence or trademark. Note that the real control of a domain name is with the person listed as 'administrator', and the administrator's name and email address become public record in WHOis search registries.

There can only be one of any Domain name in the world. If mysitename.com is already registered, then you must find a name that is not registered in the available 'pool' of names, or offer to buy the name from the current 'owner'. You can search to see if a name is available at yahoo or 1and1. If you are interested in a site that is already owned you can search who owns the name at any WHOis search registry. You can get the admistrators email address and make an offer yourself or a site like Sedo can make an offer on your behalf and assist in the transaction and transfer, both technically and financially with an escrow account. You can register your name and build your own website at domaindirect.