.COM: Short for .commercial. Domain names with the .com extension are by far the most popular, and can be purchased by any individual or business.

.NET: Short for .network, this domain extension was originally designed to be used by technical Web sites. However, domains using this extension can be registered by anyone.

.ORG: Short for .organization. Originally designated for non-profit firms and any other organizations that did not fit under the .com or .net extension, any individual or business may now register a .org domain name.

.BIZ: The .biz TLD is a designated suffix for businesses. Domains using the .biz extension must be used for business or commercial use. This suffix is fully active. http://www.neulevel.biz has more information on the .biz suffix.

.INFO: The first unrestricted top-level domain since .com, .info domains are available to the general public.

.NAME: Available to the general public, .name email addresses are listed as firstname@lastname or lastname@firstname, while Web sites are listed as www.firstname.lastname.name.

Bandwidth: The amount of data that can be transmitted at a given moment to a server. The higher your bandwidth, the larger amount of traffic your site can handle at one time.

CGI: Short for Common Gateway Interface, a small script that processes data taken from the user (such as from a form application).

Cgi-bin: The directory on a Web server where CGI scripts are stored.

Domain servers: This contains the DNS (Domain Name System) information for a domain, and is usually listed in WHOIS records. There are usually two lines of DNS information. The first is typically a site’s primary DNS information, while the second contains secondary/back-up information.

DNS: Short for Domain Name System which is used to translate numeric addresses (known as IP, or Internet Protocol, addresses) into words.

Domain names: The word sequences users enter in their URL bar to visit your site.

Escrow: A third party service that will essentially hold on to the buyer’s payment when selling a domain name, thereby protecting both the buyer and seller.

HTTP: Stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol, the protocol by which HTML files move across the Internet. HTTP requires a client browser and an HTTP server (typically a Web server).

ICANN: Stands for Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which is a not for profit organization that handles IP address space allocation and most other regulatory tasks associated with domain names.

IP Address: The numeric address behind a domain name that holds a website's real location on the Web.

Domain Name Parking: All domain names have to be stored on a server in order to be purchased. Most domain registration services will therefore temporarily place a newly purchased name on their servers until a hosting plan is purchased or the owner points the DNS to a different site. This is known as parking.

Propagation: The process where name servers throughout the Internet add new domains and remove expired ones from their records. This can be a lengthy process, which is why connecting to a new domain name can often take three or four days.

Reseller: A company/person that sells domain names through registry services provided by an ICANN approved registrar.

SSL: Short for Secure Sockets Layer, a protocol developed by Netscape to handle and protect confidential/sensitive information required for e-commerce transactions (like credit card numbers). SSL address usually begin with 'https'.

Subdomain: Typically known as a "domain within a domain", subdomains are individual Web addresses built upon a pre-existing domain name (such as clientname.yourhostingcompany.com). As a reseller, you will have the option of assigning subdomains to clients if they do not choose to have a domain name.

TLD: Short for Top Level Domain, the suffix to a domain name. TLDs include .com, .net, .org and country codes such as .ca.

WHOIS: A central database which tracks all domain name/IP registrations. Each domain name registrar typically maintains its own version of a WHOIS database.