Domain levels
Domains are divided into first (top), second and third level. Moreover, if you look at the composition of a domain name, then the domains are read from right to left.
Root domain - root domain. Domain itself top level, is marked with a “dot” (zero level). In common usage, the "dot" is not displayed as part of the domain name.
Top (first level) domains.
Top-level domain names are also called domain zones.
First (top) level domains include domain names like .ru, .рф, .su, .com, .net, .club.
Top-level domains are divided into several groups:
- Country code top level domains (cctld). In the territory Russian Federation such domains include domain zones.RU, .RF, .SU. National domains also include domain zones: .ua (Ukraine), .de (Germany), .eu (European Union).
- International (generic) top-level domains (generic Top Level Domain (gTLD). These are such domain zones as: .com, .info, .biz, .name, .org.
- New international top-level domains ( new gTLD). These domain zones are thematically focused on various areas of life and business: hobbies and everyday life (.photography, .gallery, .garden), business and finance (.finance, .money, .business), sports and entertainment (.bike, .fitness, .bar), style and beauty (.style, .best, .fashion), professional activities (.guru, .expert, .lawyer).
Second level domains.
Second-level domains are registered on first-level domains. It is second-level domains that are common for commercial use. For example, second-level domains are sites hoster..com.
Third level domains.
Third-level domains can be created on second-level domains. Third-level domains include such domains as filanco.com.ua, datahouse.com.ru.
For commercial use on the territory of the Russian Federation, registration of geographic and industry domains in the domain zones: ru.net, com.ru, msk.ru, sbp.ru is common.
International gTLDs
Biz - websites for business
.com - websites of commercial organizations
.edu - educational resources
.gov - government websites
.info - information sites
.mil - websites of military organizations
.movie - official movie sites
.museum - museum websites
.net - providers and network organizations
.org - non-profit organizations
.pro - for professionals
.tv - websites of television companies
Name - personal domain
Club - domain for a club of common interests
Xyz - universal domain
Center - somewhat similar to the .club zone, but wider. The domain can be interpreted as both a “center for like-minded people” and a “shopping center.”
Domains from different countries
Am - Armenia
At - Austria
.az – Azerbaijan
Be - Belgium
.bg - Bulgaria
By – Belarus
.ch - Switzerland
Cn - China
Co - Colombia
.de - Germany
Dk - Denmark
.ee – Estonia
Eg - Egypt
.es - Spain
Eu - Europe
.fi - Finland
Fr - France
.gb - UK
Ge – Georgia
.gr - Greece
HR from Croatia
.hu - Hungary
Ie - Ireland
.il - Israel
In - India
.is - Iceland
It - Italy
.jp - Japan
Kg - Kyrgyzstan
.kz – Kazakhstan
Li - Liechtenstein
.lt – Lithuania
Lu from Luxembourg
.lv – Latvia
Ly - Libya
.md - Moldova
Mn - Mongolia
.nl - Netherlands
No - Norway
.nt - Neutral Zone
Pl - Poland
.pt - Portugal
Ro - Romania
.ru - Russia
SE - Sweden
.si - Slovenia
Sk - Slovakia
.su - Former USSR
Tj – Tajikistan
.tm - Turkmenistan
Tr - Türkiye
.ua - Ukraine
UK - United Kingdom
.us - USA
Uz - Uzbekistan
.va - Vatican
Buying and choosing the right domain name is the first step when creating and developing any website. We have collected detailed information so that you can easily understand this issue.
Domain names: differences by country or industry
Domains are divided into several groups:
- National domains
- Generic Domains
- Multilingual Domains (IDN)
- Industry domains
- Geographic domains
- Territorial domains
Each of these groups has its own characteristics, which we will now consider in detail.
National domains allocated for most countries by ICANN. The domain name must strictly correspond to the two-letter country code from the ISO 3166 standard (for example, domain.RU).
They were created specifically for the convenience of residents of countries, so most often registrars allow them to be registered only by residents of a certain state. But there are also exceptions.
IN this moment 252 national first-level domains have been announced.
Generic Domains- top-level domains without restrictions, i.e. they can be registered by any individual or entity and for any purpose. The most famous: .COM, .NET, .ORG, .INFO, .BIZ, .PRO, .MOBI, .NAME.
This group also includes domains for organizations or institutions.EDU, .GOV, .INT and .MIL.
Multilingual domains use the country's national alphabet to form the domain name. Using recoding through the PUNYCODE algorithm, such names are converted into a set of Latin characters and are accepted by DNS systems and others.
Since 2010, it has become possible to register domains in the Russian Federation zone; they can do this only residents of the Russian Federation. In addition, the name must contain from 2 to 63 characters and include only letters of the Russian alphabet, numbers and some symbols. Within a year after purchasing such a domain, changing the administrator is prohibited.
For example, the site newyearblizko.rf will be displayed as xn-90abdeqfdngoldg6o.xn-p1ai. At the moment, absolutely all browsers cope with this transformation without any problems.
Industry domains. Their main purpose is to link them to organizations of certain industries and departments. These include 3rd level domains: .net.ru, .org.ru, .com.ru.
Geographic domains or geodomains - domains corresponding to the names of countries, cities or regions. Typical examples: .msk.ru, .irk.ru.
Territorial domains are part of public domains and exist only thanks to online communities. Top-level domains include .eu, created specifically for the European Union, and .su, which was originally tied to the USSR, but now represents the space of the Russian language on the Internet.
Domain registration in Latin
Basic Rules:
- The first and last character of a domain name cannot be a hyphen.
- The beginning and end of the name can only contain a letter of the Latin alphabet or a number.
- Words that are contrary to the interests of society or moral principles (swear words, insulting religious feelings) cannot be present.
- Domain registration is possible for a period from 1 to 10 years.
Domain registration in Cyrillic.RF
Basic Rules:
- The minimum length of such a domain is 2 characters, the maximum is 63.
- The beginning and end of the name must contain only Cyrillic letters or numbers.
- It is allowed to use hyphens and the letter ё as characters from the UTF-8 encoding.
General questions about working with domains
Is it possible to transfer a purchased domain to another hosting?
When you purchase a domain from one registrar, you can always transfer it to another registrar. To do this, two conditions must be met: at least 60 days must have passed from the date of registration and the domain must not be the subject of litigation.
How long does it take to register a new domain?
As a rule, the domain registration process takes no more than 10-15 minutes. Another thing is the deadline for updating registration data and NS domain. It takes up to 48 hours: it all depends on the registrar’s database.
How long can I own a domain?
You can retain your domain name for an unlimited amount of time, without forgetting to renew it upon expiration. You can purchase a domain in advance and place a website on it later, for example, in a year or two.
What to do if your domain registration has expired?
If the domain registration period has expired and you missed this moment, nothing bad will happen to the site. All registrars have a special “stub” for this case, which will be shown instead of the website.
If you see such a message, run to your domain control panel to pay for it. You can also check the box " Automatic renewal domain" so that such a situation does not arise, and the site does not stand idle in vain.
I made a mistake in the domain name, what should I do?
If, when registering a domain, you made a mistake in its name, most likely you will not be able to get your money back. In this case, you should carefully read the registrar's rules related to this problem.
How to delegate a domain?
To delegate a domain, you need to specify the NS addresses of the new registrar in its settings. After update DNS records(the process takes from 30 minutes to 72 hours) the site will be taken over by the registrar whose data you provided.
The domain has been purchased, what's the next step?
After purchasing a domain name, you need to choose hosting on which the site and CMS for it will be located. On many hosting sites, the website engine is installed directly from the control panel.
And if you have already registered your first website, but don’t know how to make it look decent, we recommend contacting our layout specialists. They will help you decide on the design and functionality of the future resource.
RU-CENTER is one of the largest registrars on the Russian market since 2001. We provide services for registration, renewal and transfer of support for information about domain names in more than: national, international and thematic.
To do this, enter the query you are interested in in the search bar and click “Check”. The list of results will show available names in domain zones with a price for the first year - all available, from the most to the most expensive. Our selection will allow you to check whether a specific domain is free if you enter it in its entirety in the search bar.
Select the appropriate option from the search results by category or across the entire list, place and pay for your order. These are valid for the first year of registration and may differ from the cost of the domain upon renewal.
After the money is received, the domain name is registered in the central database (Register) - the administrator indicates the individual or organization that has entered into an agreement with RU-CENTER.
After registration, management and all information about the domain become available in the “For Clients” section.
A domain is an area of the Internet's hierarchical name space that is designated by a unique domain name, served by a set of domain name servers (DNS), and centrally administered by a Domain Administrator. A single Administrator is identified for each registered domain name.
National domains
National domains (country code Top Level Domains - ccTLDs) - top-level domains are assigned by the international organization IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority) in agreement with the Internet communities of countries in accordance with the codes of countries and territories according to the international ISO standard 3166-1.
- Through the .masterhost company you can register the following domains in national zones: .ru, .rf, .fo, etc.
- Top level domains .ru .rf are the domain of the Russian Federation.
- Domain names in zones .ru .rf .su are registered for a period of 1 year.
- Domains in zones .cc, .tv .fo etc. You can register for a period from 1 year to 10 years.
Generic Domains
All top-level domains can be divided into two large parts. The first is public domain domains ( generic TLD or gTLD) and new top-level domains (New gTLDs) are thematic domain zones that marked the launch of a new era of the Internet.
Generic domains include .COM, .NET, .ORG, .RUS, etc. domains.
New domains introduced by ICANN as part of the New gTLD program include, for example, domain zones such as .SITE, .ONLINE, .OOO, .FUN, .LTD and many others. Unlike generic top-level domains, most of the interesting options here are not yet taken and available for registration!
- You can register generic domains through the company.masterhost
in more than 260 domain zones: .com .net, .org, .site, .online, .email, .cam and others. - You can register domains in international zones for a period of 1 to 10 years.
Premium Domains
Premium segment domains exist in various domain zones (.COM, .NET, .RUS, .OOO and others).
Premium domains sound great and are memorable. For example, most two-character domains are premium. In addition, premium domains often consist of common, colorful and euphonious words.
The list of domains with premium status is determined independently by the domain name zone registry. The cost of registering and renewing premium domains may differ from the standard domain cost. Special prices and promotions for registration and renewal of domain names by general rule do not apply to premium domain names.
Multilingual Domains (IDN)
Multilingual domain names are names represented by characters of national alphabets in combination with a domain zone in the Latin alphabet.
The DNS system only works with Latin characters, so direct registration of such names in the Registry is impossible.
However, there is another way: the site address from characters of national alphabets entered into the address bar of the browser is converted using the resources of the program itself into a set of Latin characters that is acceptable for registration in the Register.
Today, all modern browsers perform this conversion. For example, mydomain.su is not a domain name as such. This is an IDN or representation for a traditional Latin domain xn--d1acklchcc.su, which is obtained by recoding using a special PUNYCODE algorithm.
- In the .RUS and .РФ zones, you can only register a domain in a Cyrillic domain.
Multilingual domain registration is available in many country and international zones
(for example, in zones, COM, .NET, .LTD, .SPACE, etc.).
In the .SU domain it is possible to register domain names, not only Cyrillic domain names, but also those consisting of characters from the Greek, Cyrillic, Armenian, Arabic, Georgian alphabets and Hebrew.
Industry domains
Industry domains are intended for registration of third-level domain names, taking into account industry, departmental and other similar specifics. Registration of industry domains is carried out by .masterhost through partner registrars.
Industry domains include:
- .net.ru - for organizations implementing projects related to the development of the Internet;
- .org.ru - for non-profit organizations;
- .pp.ru - For individuals;
- .com.ru - for commercial organizations.
Geographic domains
Geographic domain names are recognized as the established designations of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.
- Registration of industry domains is carried out by .masterhost through partner registrars.
- Registration is valid for one year.
Territorial domains
Within generic domains there are so-called sponsored domain zones (sTLD).
They are supported by funds allocated by representatives of the Internet community who are most interested in their existence.
At the same time inside gTLD And ccTLD Domains can distinguish a number of zones that have been delegated to certain territories or regions. Given their specificity, it makes sense to combine them into a special group of so-called “territorial domains”.
The main territorial domains include:
.eu - national domain top level for the European Union. In order to register a domain in the .EU zone, you must be a resident of the European Union or have a permanent representative in its territory.
.su- was originally delegated to the USSR. However, a geopolitical space has been preserved in which economic and political ties are still exceptionally strong. Therefore, it was decided to position the .SU domain as a common space for the Russian language on the Internet.
Domains in zones .eu And .su are registered for a period of 1 year.
Rules for registering domains in the zone.RU
- the full domain name must end with the characters “.RU”;
- the preceding part of the domain name must contain from 2 to 63 characters, begin and end with a letter of the Latin alphabet or a number;
- intermediate characters in a domain name can be letters of the Latin alphabet, numbers or a hyphen;
- a domain name cannot contain hyphens in both the 3rd and 3rd positions;
Rules for registering domains in the zone.RF
- the full domain name must end with the characters “.РФ”;
- the preceding part of the domain name must contain such a number of characters that the Punycode representation of the designation contains from 2 to 63 characters, begins and ends with a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet or a number;
- a Cyrillic domain name can consist of letters of the Cyrillic alphabet, numbers from zero (0) to nine (9) and the hyphen symbol (-);
- acceptable letters are letters of the Russian alphabet, including the letter “ё”; uppercase and lowercase letters do not differ;
- To delegate a domain name, you must go through mobile authorization by entering the code received via SMS in the control panel. Without performing this action, the domain will be registered, but will remain in the not delegated status.
RULES FOR REGISTRATION OF INTERNATIONAL, COUNTRY AND SPONSORED DOMAINS
- The fully qualified domain name must end with characters that match the domain zone.
- The preceding part of the domain name must contain:
- in domains .PW, .RUS - from 3 to 63 characters;
- in other international domains - from 2 to 63 characters;
- Intermediate characters in a domain name can be letters of the Latin alphabet, numbers or a hyphen.
- The domain name cannot begin or end with a hyphen.
Rules for registering domains using national language characters
- The domain name can consist of letters of the national alphabet, numbers and hyphens.
- Intermediate characters can be letters of the national alphabet, numbers or a hyphen.
- The maximum length of a Punycode domain name cannot exceed 63 characters.
Registry Operators:
- ANO "Coordination Center for Domains.RU/.РФ": https://cctld.ru/
- Internet Development Fund: www.fid.su
- VeriSign Inc: .COM, .NET domains https://www.verisign.com/
- Public Interest Registry: domain.ORG: https://pir.org/policies/
- LLC "Russian Names": domain.RUS: http://rusnames.ru/rules.pl
- Donuts Inc. https://donuts.domains/about/policies/
- CentralNic Ltd. https://www.centralnic.com/support/terms
- Radix TLDs. https://radix.website/policies/
United Arab Emirates
.AF - Afghanistan (Afghanistan)
.A.G.- Antigua and Barbuda (Antigua and Barbuda)
.AI - Anguilla
.AL - Albania (Albania)
.A.M.- Armenia (Armenia)
.AN - Netherlands Antilles
.AO - Angola (Angola)
.AQ - Antarctica (Antarctica)
.AR - Argentina (Argentina)
.AS - American Samoa (American Samoa)
.AT- Austria (Austria)
.AU- Australia (Australia)
.AW - Aruba (Aruba)
.AX - Aland Islands
.AZ- Azerbaijan (Azerbaijan)
.BA - Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
.BB - Barbados (Barbados)
.BD - Bangladesh
.BE- Belgium (Belgium)
.BF - Burkina Faso (Burkina Faso)
.BG - Bulgaria (Bulgaria)
.BH - Bahrain (Bahrain)
.BI - Burundi (Burundi)
.BJ - Benin (Benin)
.BM - Bermuda (Bermuda)
.BN - Brunei Darussalam (Brunei)
.BO - Bolivia (Bolivia)
.BR - Brazil (Brazil)
.BS - Bahamas (Bahamas)
.BT - Bhutan (Bhutan)
.BV - Bouvet Island
.BW - Botswana (Botswana)
.BY- Belarus (Belarus)
.BZ - Belize (Belize)
.C.A.- Canada
.CC- Cocos (Keeling) Islands
.CD - Congo (Congo)
.CF - Central African Republic (Central African Republic)
.CG - Congo (Congo)
.CH- Switzerland
.CI - Cote d'Ivoire (Cote d'Ivoire)
.CK - Cook Islands
.CL - Chile (Chile)
.CM - Cameroon (Cameroon)
.CN- China (China)
.CO - Colombia
.CR - Costa Rica (Costa Rica)
.CS - Serbia and Montenegro (Serbia and Montenegro)
.CU - Cuba
.CV - Cape Verde (Cape Verde)
.CX - Christmas Island
.C.Y.- Cyprus (Cyprus)
.CZ- Czech Republic (Czech Republic)
.DE- Germany (Germany)
.DJ- Djibouti (Djibouti)
.DK- Denmark
.DM - Dominica (Dominica)
.DO - Dominican Republic (Dominican Republic)
.DZ - Algeria (Algeria)
.EC - Ecuador (Ecuador)
.E.E.- Estonia (Estonia)
.E.G.- Egypt (Egypt)
.EH - Western Sahara
.ER - Eritrea (Eritrea)
.ES- Spain (Spain)
.ET - Ethiopia (Ethiopia)
.EU- European Union (European Union)
.FI- Finland (Finland)
.FJ - Fiji (Fiji)
.FK - Falkland Islands
.FM- Micronesia (Micronesia)
.FO - Faroe Islands
.FR- France (France)
.GA - Gabon (Gabon)
.GB - United Kingdom
.GD - Grenada (Grenada)
.G.E.- Georgia (Georgia)
.GF - French Guiana
.GG - Guernsey (Island of Guernsey)
.GH - Ghana (Ghana)
.GI - Gibraltar (Gibraltar)
.GL - Greenland (Greenland)
.GM - Gambia (Gambia)
.GN - Guinea (Guinea)
.GP - Guadeloupe (Guadeloupe)
.GQ - Equatorial Guinea
.GR- Greece (Greece)
.GS - South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
.GT - Guatemala (Guatemala)
.GU - Guam
.GW - Guinea-Bissau (Guinea-Bissau)
.GY - Guyana (Guyana)
.HK - Hong Kong
.HM - Heard and McDonald Islands
.HN - Honduras (Honduras)
.HR - Croatia/Hrvatska (Croatia)
.HT - Haiti (Haiti)
.HU - Hungary (Hungary)
.ID - Indonesia (Indonesia)
.I.E.- Ireland
.IL- Israel (Israel)
.IM - Isle of Man (Isle of Man)
.IN- India (India)
.IO- British Indian Ocean Territory
.IQ - Iraq
.IR - Iran (Iran)
.IS - Iceland (Iceland)
.IT- Italy (Italy)
.JE - Jersey (Jersey Island)
.JM - Jamaica (Jamaica)
.JO - Jordan (Jordan)
.J.P.- Japan (Japan)
.KE - Kenya (Kenya)
.KG- Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyzstan)
.KH - Cambodia (Cambodia)
.KI - Kiribati (Kiribati)
.KM - Comoros (Comoros)
.KN - Saint Kitts and Nevis (Saint Kitts and Nevis)
.KP - Korea (North Korea)
.KR - Korea (South Korea)
.KW - Kuwait (Kuwait)
.KY - Cayman Islands
.KZ- Kazakhstan (Kazakhstan)
.L.A.- Laos (Laos)
.LB - Lebanon (Lebanon)
.LC - Saint Lucia (Saint Lucia)
.LI - Liechtenstein (Liechtenstein)
.LK - Sri Lanka (Sri Lanka)
.LR - Liberia (Liberia)
.LS - Lesotho (Lesotho)
.LT- Lithuania (Lithuania)
.LU - Luxembourg (Luxembourg)
.LV- Latvia (Latvia)
.LY - Libya (Libya)
.MA - Morocco (Morocco)
.MC - Monaco (Monaco)
.M.D.- Moldova (Moldova)
.MG - Madagascar (Madagascar)
.MH - Marshall Islands
.MK - Macedonia (Macedonia)
.ML - Mali (Mali)
.MM - Myanmar (Myanmar)
.MN - Mongolia (Mongolia)
.MO - Macau
.MP - Northern Mariana Islands
.MQ - Martinique (Martinique)
.MR - Mauritania (Mauritania)
.MS - Montserrat (Montserrat)
.MT - Malta (Malta)
.MU - Mauritius (Mauritius)
.MV - Maldives
.MW - Malawi (Malawi)
.MX - Mexico (Mexico)
.M.Y.- Malaysia (Malaysia)
.MZ - Mozambique (Mozambique)
.NA - Namibia (Namibia)
.NC - New Caledonia
.NE - Niger (Niger)
.NF - Norfolk Island (Norfolk)
.NG - Nigeria (Nigeria)
.NI - Nicaragua (Nicaragua)
.NL - Netherlands (Netherlands)
.NO- Norway (Norway)
.NP - Nepal (Nepal)
.NR - Nauru (Nauru)
.NU- Niue
.NZ - New Zealand (New Zealand)
.OM - Oman (Oman)
.PA - Panama (Panama)
.PE - Peru (Peru)
.PF - French Polynesia (French Polynesia)
.PG - Papua New Guinea (Papua - New Guinea)
.PH - Philippines (Philippines)
.PK - Pakistan (Pakistan)
.P.L.- Poland (Poland)
.PM - Saint Pierre and Miquelon (Saint Pierre and Miquelon)
.PN - Pitcairn Island (Pitcairn Island)
.PR - Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico)
.PS - Palestine (Palestine)
.P.T.- Portugal (Portugal)
.PW - Palau (Palau)
.PY - Paraguay (Paraguay)
.QA - Qatar
.RE - Reunion Island
.R.O.- Romania (Romania)
.RU- Russian Federation (Russia)
.RW - Rwanda (Rwanda)
.SA - Saudi Arabia (Saudi Arabia)
.SB - Solomon Islands
.SC - Seychelles (Seychelles)
.SD - Sudan (Sudan)
.S.E.- Sweden (Sweden)
.S.G.- Singapore
.SH- Saint Helena (St. Helena Island)
.SI - Slovenia (Slovenia)
.SJ - Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands
.SK - Slovakia (Slovakia)
.SL - Sierra Leone (Sierra Leone)
.SM - San Marino (San Marino)
.SN - Senegal (Senegal)
.SO - Somalia (Somalia)
.SR - Suriname (Suriname)
.ST - Sao Tome and Principe (Sao Tome and Principe)
.S.U.- Soviet Union (USSR)
.SV - El Salvador (El Salvador)
.SY - Syria (Syria)
.SZ - Swaziland
.TC - Turks and Caicos Islands
.TD - Chad (Chad)
.TF - French Southern Territories
.TG - Togo (Togo)
.T.H.- Thailand (Thailand)
.T.J.- Tajikistan (Tajikistan)
.TK- Tokelau (Tokelau)
.TL - Timor-Leste
.TM- Turkmenistan (Turkmenistan)
.TN - Tunisia (Tunisia)
.TO - Tonga
.TP - East Timor (East Timor)
.TR- Turkey (Türkiye)
.TT - Trinidad and Tobago (Trinidad and Tobago)
.TV- Tuvalu (Tuvalu)
.TW- Taiwan
.TZ - Tanzania (Tanzania)
.U.A.- Ukraine (Ukraine)
.UG - Uganda (Uganda)
.UK- United Kingdom (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)
.UM - United States Minor Outlying Islands
.US- United States
.UY - Uruguay (Uruguay)
.UZ- Uzbekistan (Uzbekistan)
.VA - Holy See, Vatican (Vatican)
.VC - Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)
.VE - Venezuela (Venezuela)
.VG - Virgin Islands, British (Virgin Islands, British)
.VI - Virgin Islands, U.S. (Virgin Islands, USA)
.VN - Vietnam (Vietnam)
.VU - Vanuatu (Vanuatu)
.WF - Wallis and Futuna Islands
.W.S.- Western Samoa (Western Samoa)
.YE - Yemen (Yemen)
.YT - Mayotte
.YU - Yugoslavia (Yugoslavia)
.ZA- South Africa (South Africa)
.ZM - Zambia (Zambia)
.ZW - Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe)
