Also called domain
Domain name, explained
A domain name reads from right to left. The top-level domain, such as .com, .ai or .de, is run by a registry; the label to its left is the part you choose and register through a registrar, typically for one to ten years at a time. Each label can be up to 63 characters of letters, digits and hyphens, cannot begin or end with a hyphen, and is not case-sensitive. Names in non-Latin scripts are stored in an ASCII form called Punycode.
What you hold is not outright ownership but a renewable right to use the name, subject to the registry's rules, your registration agreement and dispute policies such as the UDRP. Miss a renewal and the name can be lost; copy someone's trademark and it can be taken away. There were 401.6 million registrations across all extensions at the end of Q2 2026, yet short, clear, commercially useful names in trusted extensions remain scarce, which is why the practical view treats a good domain as a long-term asset. Most registered names never sell.
Example. In shop.example.com, .com is the top-level domain, example is the registered second-level name, and shop is a subdomain the owner can create without registering anything.
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Education, not financial, legal or tax advice. Domain investing is speculative and most domain names never sell. Read the disclaimer.