By Joe Fino
The Erickson Tribune
A domain name is a name that is entered into a computer (e.g., as part of a website or other URL, or an email address) and then looked up in the global Domain Name System which informs the computer of the IP address(es) with that name. The domain for The Erickson Tribune’s website is EricksonTribune.com.
A third-level domain is usually a sub-section of the larger domain and typically points to a folder or different content sections within the larger site. Large, multi-product organizations use third-level domains to designate separate products or business units, while keeping a same company second-level domain for branding purposes.
A third level allows for easy load-balancing among multiple servers across a specific site; in particular, the areas expecting to experience the highest flow of traffic.Here are some popular third-level domains you’ve probablyheard of or used:
Most of this isn’t of any concern to end-users except when it confuses users into entering incorrect addresses. A big mistake made by many users is that they will enter the “www” ahead of the third-level address. This often causes the dreaded “404 Not Found Error.” So next time, leave it off—it will save you four keystrokes, too.