Third Level Domain Name - What ?

There are three levels in a domain name. The first level is the word or sentence that constitutes the initial domain name. The extension is the second part of the domain name. Common extensions include.com,.net or.org. The third part of the domain name, called the domain name of the third level, is an optional part. Like the first domain name, it consists of a word or phrase to describe any webpage to which it refers. However, unlike the first-level domain name, the third-level domain name cannot access a web page on its own; the first-level domain and the extension must be included in the syntax.

Domain names at the third level are often used by free web hosting companies to help distinguish their customers' websites. If domain names of the third level were not used, customers would not have been able to access their website easily. Some third level domains may have first word or sentence of the first level domain. An example is Geocities, where 'Geocities.com' would have to be added before the domain name of the third level. Other domain names of the third level could have the last domain name of the first level. This is the case for netfirms where 'Netfirms.com' comes after the words or phrases of the third level domain.

Third-level domains for customers come at no extra cost. In contrast, a normal domain name can range from $6.50 to $35 per year. It may also take time before the domain name is active. This can take up to 7 days, especially if a domain name is transferred. Conversely, domain names of third level can be instantly configured.

However, the domains of the third level are far from perfect. As the first level domain name is required as part of their syntax, a visitor to a website can be quite cumbersome to remember. If a person promotes a third level domain name in various forms of of offline media such as circulars or business cards, they will almost forget about traffic. In these situations it certainly requires a webmaster to invest in his own first-level domain name.

So does this mean that webmasters don't value third level domain names? Well, if a webmaster uses hyperlink marketing, then a third-level domain name still has value. What is marketing hyperlink? It is when a word or sentence is linked to a URL instead of the URL itself. It is usually used in e-mails, viral e-books and on websites. A potential visitor never even sees the name of the domain on the third level, as a hyperlinked word or phrase masks it. And hopefully, they will like the website so much, instead of trying to remember the whole URL they will bookmark it.

Finally, third-level domain names offer both web hosting companies and their customers accessibility. They offer comfort as there is no time to wait for their setup. However, if used, the best thing is that they are hidden in hyperlinks because most website visitors prefer to enter domain names of the first level.