What are domain sections?

What are domain sections?

A domain consists of two different levels, the top level and the second level. Now let's take a closer look at both of the NoktaCloud.com.tr examples.

What is a TLD (top level domain)?

The last part of the domain is known as the Top Level Domain (TLD). In the www.NoktaCloud.com.tr example, the TLD is .com.tr. Top Level Domains are sometimes called domain suffixes or 
domain extensions and indicate the purpose or location of a website. ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) controls the registries that make TLDs available. There 
are several types of TLDs that ICANN recognizes, including:

Generic top level domain (gTLD)

Generic top-level domain is the most common type of TLD used, examples of which include .com, .net, .org and .edu. They are used to indicate the purpose of a website, for example .com is 
used for commercial purposes and .edu is used for educational purposes.

Country code top level domain (ccTLD)

Domain names may choose to use a ccTLD to indicate the country in which their website is registered. For example, .us is the ccTLD for the USA and .ie is the ccTLD for Ireland. The purpose
of ccTLD is to indicate which country a domain name is from, but there are also ccTLDs preferred for brand value, such as Libya's ccTLD .ly or Tuvalu's ccTLD .tv.

Unsponsored top-level domain (uTLD)

Unsponsored top-level domain (uTLD) is another subcategory within gTLDs. These are unrestricted gTLDs such as .com or .info that can be used by most domain registrars. When domains 
were first introduced in the 1980s, there were a total of 7 gTLDs and only three of them (.com, .net and .org) could be registered without restrictions. The lack of TLD options has led most 
people to turn to .com. That's why .com is now generally preferred by many domain name registrars and users.

Since the .com extension has been with us for so long, it is not always possible to find a short and catchy domain name ending with this popular gTLD. New TLDs are introduced every year 
for different industries, interests and locations.

What is a second level domain?

A second-level domain (SLD), sometimes called a 2LD, is the part of the domain name that comes before the TLD. In the example of www.NoktaCloud.com.tr, the second level domain is the 
NoktaCloud section.

The SLD is often the most valuable part of a domain name because it forms the user's primary identity.

Although TLD is important, the value of a domain is in the part before the actual TLD. For example, if we consider Google.com, the Google part of the domain is more valuable than the .com part. 
The task of the SLD part of a domain is usually to strengthen the identity of the brand or website.

The maximum length of an SLD is 63 characters, but we generally recommend choosing a domain name that is short, reflective of your brand, and memorable.

In our next article, What is the difference between Domain and URL? We will explain the topic.