Domains Terminology

A domain, or domain name, is the web address or URL people use to visit your website on the internet. Domain names appear in the address bar of any web browsers, such as Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, or Safari.

The following list of definitions of popular terms associated with domains may help you understand better about these terminologies.To

Terminology	Definitions
A record	An A record is a DNS setting that checks whether a domain name has a specific IP address associated with it. In this case, you want your A record to point to Shoplazza’s IP address. Other terms: Address record, host record
CAA record	The CAA (Certification Authority Authorization) record is used to specify which certificate authorities are allowed to issue certificates for a domain. A certificate authority (CA) is a trusted entity that issues electronic documents that verify a digital entity's identity on the Internet.
CNAME record	A CNAME record is a DNS setting that points your subdomains to another domain name. In this case, you want your CNAME record to point to your Shoplazza-hosted domain by using shops.myshoplazza.com. Other terms: CNAME resource record, alias
DNS	The Domain Name Systems (DNS) is a database of domain names. Every domain has its own DNS entry. Domain Name Systems organize domain names and translate them from words to numbers so you can visit a website without memorizing its IP address. You might need to change your DNS settings when you connect a third-party domain to your Shoplazza store. You can't change your DNS settings for your myshoplazza.com domain name. Other terms: DNS records, DNS settings, resource records, DNS file zone
Domain name	A domain name is an address people use to visit your website on the internet. Domain names appear in the address bar of your web browser linking to specific IP addresses. Other terms: domain
Domain provider	A domain provider is a company that registers your domain name for you. Typically, you purchase a domain on a subscription basis and you pay a regular fee to your domain provider to keep using your domain name. Other terms: domain registrar, domain host
HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS)	The HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) is a web security mechanism that ensures that browsers only connect to your online store over a secure HTTPS connection. Using a secure connection prevents certain kinds of network attacks and helps ensure the safety of your information and your customers' information.
ICANN	The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is an organization that governs and manages Domain Name Systems and other internet protocols.
IP address	An IP address is a unique string of numbers that specifies the location of a computer or device on the internet and distinguishes it from other computers or devices. An IP address is required for one computer to communicate with other devices over the internet. Other terms: Internet Protocol address
MX record	An MX record is a DNS setting that points a domain name to a mail server and is used to process emails through your custom domain. You can set up more than one MX record, and add a backup email addresses if you want to make sure that email messages reach you if your main email server is down. Other terms: Mail Exchange record, Mail eXchanger record, mail server record
Primary domain	The Primary domain is the domain name that's displayed in the address bar while customers browse your online store. You can use your root domain or a subdomain as your primary domain, but you can have only one primary domain for your online store.
Root domain	A root domain is the domain name that you purchase from your domain provider. A root domain has a top-level domain (TLD) extension such as .com, .org, or .net, but it does not contain a prefix such as www. An example of a root domain is shoplazza.com. Other terms: base domain, top-level domain, and second-level domain
SSL certificate	See TLS certificate.
Subdirectory	A subdirectory is a section of your main website. A subdirectory is defined by a / at the end of the domain name. For example, in the URL shoplazza.com/pricing, /pricing is the subdirectory. A subdirectory is different from a subdomain because it's used mainly for organizing your website, while a subdomain can take you to an entirely different website. Examples of subdirectories on your online store are /collections, /products, and /pages. You can't edit subdirectory names. Regardless of what domain you're using, the subdirectory names remain the same.
Subdomain	A subdomain is a subset of your root domain that you add as a prefix to your root domain. For example, in the URL help.shoplazza.com, shoplazza.com is the root domain and help. is the subdomain. You can use subdomains to organize your website and make it easier for visitors to find the information they want
Time to Live	The Time to Live (TTL) value of your domain determines how frequently your DNS records are updated. All domain DNS records have a TTL value. For example, if a record has a TTL of 86400 seconds, it takes up to 24 hours to go into effect. Changing a record's TTL affects how long any subsequent change takes.
Top-level and second-level domains	The top-level domain (TLD) and second-level domain are components of the root domain that give hierarchy to the domain structure. For example, in the root domain shoplazza.com, the top-level domain is .com and the second-level domain is shoplazza.
TLS certificate	A TLS certificate is a security protocol that creates a safe connection between a server and a browser, which keeps all connections to Shoplazza, including your own connections and your customers' connections. When your TLS certificate is activated, a padlock icon appears beside your online store's URL in the address bar. Other terms: Transport Layer Security, Secure Sockets Layer, SSL
TXT record	A TXT record is a DNS setting. TXT records contain text information that can be used by services outside of your domain. For example, you might add a TXT record that a third-party service has given you to verify with them that you own the domain. Other terms: Text record
WHOIS privacy	WHOIS is a service you can use to look up information about the owner of a domain name. WHOIS privacy is a service that hides your domain information from a WHOIS lookup and replaces your contact information with contactprivacy.com contact details. WHOIS privacy lets your personal contact information remain hidden from the public. You can purchase WHOIS privacy from your domain provider for an additional fee.