Difference between URL and Domain Name

The World Wide Web (WWW) is a collection of resources, including files, web pages, and websites. These resources are accessible via the internet. Every web resources have its unique URL. It is a collection of characters that defines the location of a web page or website. The URL primarily contains the protocol used to access the website, the domain name, and the web page name. As a result, the domain name is part of the URL. The domain name is a unique or specific name that is utilized to identify the website. Domain names are typically easier for humans to remember than IP addresses.

In this article, you will learn about the difference between the Domain Name and a URL. But before discussing the differences, you must know about the Domain Name and URL

What is a URL?

URL is an abbreviation for "Uniform Resource Locator". It offers the location of the resource on the internet. When users want to access a website, they enter it in the search box at the top of the browser. The web address is another name for the URL. The URL must be unique because it must refer to a specific website or webpage. Typically, the URL is categorized into three parts. The first part determines which protocol to use. The domain name is identified in the second part. The final part refers to the web page's name. Let's take an example to understand it effectively.

Example:

https://www.javatpoint.com/computer-network-tutorial

In this example, HTTP is an abbreviation for "Hyper Text Transfer Protocol". It is a collection of rules for communicating between the browser and the computer system so that they may understand each other. The www represents the World Wide Web. It refers to the web resources that may be accessible through the internet.

The next section is the domain name which is "javatpoint.com". It is a specific type of name that belongs to a registered owner. It directs visitors to the website's home page. Finally, the remainder of this URL links to a particular web page on that website.

What is a Domain Name?

The domain name was created to simplify IP addresses and make them more human-friendly. The IP address is a logical address that is allocated to each computer system connected to a computer network. It basically identifies the computer's position on the internet and aids in routing information. For instance, an IP address is 166.58.48.34. These are difficult to remember and difficult to pronounce.

The Domain Name System (DNS) converts a domain name into the IP address with which the computer system wishes to interact. When a user enters the domain name into a browser, the browser searches for and identifies the proper IP address and then sends the website associated with that IP address.

DNS is divided into two parts: abstract and concrete. The abstract defines the name syntax and rules for naming authority, and the concrete describes the utilization of a distributed computing system that maps names to addresses.

A delimiter character also separates domain suffixes. Individual domain portions may represent users or groups, but these parts are referred to as labels. A domain is also a suffix of a label in a domain name. Let's take an example to understand it very effectively.

Example:

javatpoint.com

In this example, the lowest level of the domain is javatpoint.com, and the top-level domain is com.

Key Differences between the URL and Domain Name

There are various key differences between the URL and Domain Name. Some main differences between the URL and Domain Name are as follows:

1. The URL is the whole internet address that is used to find a requested page and includes a domain. On the other hand, the Domain name is a simplified version of a technical IP address that defines an organization or institution.
2. Tim Berners Lee defined URL in the year 1994. On the other hand, Symbolics.com was the first domain name that was registered on the internet on 15th Match, 1985.
3. The domain name is divided into levels. The labels (domain suffix, sub-domain) are separated by delimiter characters and are organized in a hierarchical manner. In contrast, the URL has more data than a domain name and is divided into the method, hostname, port, path, etc.
4. If you want to find a specific website, a URL is the best way to do so, as a URL is an entire web address to find a specific website. On the other hand, the main purpose of a domain name is to make it easier to access a website. They are typically employed as a brand and referred to as a brand name.
5. URLs are composed of several elements, including protocols, parameters, domain names, path ports, etc. On the other hand, a domain name is utilized in conjunction with a domain name system, which consists of the top-level domain, DNS caching, and an authoritative DNS server.

Head-to-head comparison between URL and Domain Name

Here, you will learn the head-to-head comparisons between the URL and Domain Name. The main differences between URL and Domain Name are as follows:

Conclusion

URL and domain names are similar entities, but they differ in some ways. The URL is the whole internet address of a webpage. Still, the domain name is simply the name of the organization/individual entity and top-level internet domains like edu, gov, com, etc. The domain name is the abbreviated version, whereas the URL contains more information.