3rd Level Domains

What are they?

A simple explanation of this would be to think of an apartment address vs. that of a house. The apartment complex Boardwalk Arms would have an address of Boardwalk Arms Apartments 100 Main St. in Any City USA. But an apartment there could be Boardwalk Arms Apartments 100 Main St. - Apt. #3.

Top level or a standard personal domain name could be yourname.com while a 3rd level domain would show yourname.hostname.com or hostname.com/yourname where hostname.com is the apartment complex name and yourname is one of the many apartments. A typical email address from this would show you@hostname.com and not mention the yourname address. This means that you're a part of the hostname.com community rather than an individual house with your own private address. If you have the space, you can add 3rd Level Domains to your private domain account also. You're simply sharing the space of yourname.com with another. There are no extra charges but you must keep in mind that it will occupy your limited domain space.

Personal Domain Names

As mentioned above a personal domain name is the primary name as in yourname.com and the email address/s could be you@yourname.com The extensions to these names are the .com (commercial), .net (internet related), .org (organization or non profit). Of course there are many other domain extensions but the above 3 are the most common in the United States.

Pros & Cons

The primary advantage of having a 3rd Level Domain is that it can be available immediately as in a matter of minutes and there is absolutely no charge for the name.

The disadvantage of having a 3rd Level Domain is that your identity is shared and maybe even obscured by the hostname. And if you change ISPs your name and email address will change every time. This makes it impossible to brand the name and presents problems if you publicize the name on business cards, phone books and other places where you can't easily make changes. There are other disadvantages but the above are the main ones you should consider.

The advantages of having a Personal Domain Name are; no identity competition with a hostname. In fact yourname.com is the hostname if you choose to add 3rd Level Domains to it. Your email address you@yourname.com and your URL (website address) will remain the same as long as you own the name. So even if you change ISPs (Internet Service Provider) your website viewers would never know it because your addresse would remain the same. You also may have more features in that many ISPs offer CGI scripts and other benefits that you may not be able to use with a 3rd Level Domain. Check with your ISP to see if this is the case for you.

Some disadvantages are; you have to pay for the name. Although many companies call it a purchase, it is actually a year to year lease. Many companies charge up to $35 per year for the .com, .net, .org extensions and some others. The newer .info (information service), .ws (personal website), .biz (commercial business) and others can cost up to $50 per year with a 2 year minimum. Check with your ISP rep for their current prices and offerings.

It also can take from 1 to 3 days to setup or install a personal domain name and up to 7 days to transfer an existing one from one registrar (a company that registers domain names) to a different registrar. While 3rd Level Domains are setup in just minutes.

To setup a 3rd level or sub domain on your existing website go to the FAQ page for instructions.