What is the difference between a URL and a domain name?

DomainCn
22 May 2025 11:07:27 AM
In the daily process of surfing the Internet, we often come into contact with the concepts of "URL" and "domain name". Many people will ask: "What is the difference between URL and domain name?" At first glance, they seem to be related to t
What is the difference between a URL and a domain name?

In the daily process of surfing the Internet, we often come into contact with the concepts of "URL" and "domain name". Many people will ask: "What is the difference between URL and domain name?" At first glance, they seem to be related to the website address, but in fact, their functions and meanings are completely different. Especially when doing website construction or paying attention to domain name registration and domain name preemption, it is even more necessary to clearly understand the difference between the two.

This article will explain in detail "What is the difference between URL and domain name", and combine practical examples to illustrate the connection and difference between the two, to help everyone better understand the network address system.

1: What is a domain name?

1. The basic concept of domain name

The "domain name" we are talking about is simply the house number of the website. For example, the "xxx.com" domain name. Users only need to enter this domain name to visit the official website of Juming.com without having to remember the complex IP address. The role of the domain name is to make access more convenient and easy to remember, and it is also more suitable for brand promotion.

When talking about "What is the difference between URL and domain name", we must first know that the domain name is only a part of the URL, but it is the most core and most commonly used part.

2. The structure of the domain name

A complete domain name generally consists of two parts:

Primary domain name: such as "xxx"

Top-level domain name: such as ".com", ".cn", etc.

Therefore, "xxx.com" is a complete domain name. When registering a domain name, users will choose their favorite primary domain name and a suitable suffix to combine, and finally form a unique domain name address. By registering on Juming.com, you can obtain different types of domain name resources.

2: What is a URL?

1. Definition and function of URL

After talking about domain names, let's talk about URLs. URL is the abbreviation of Uniform Resource Locator. Its function is to tell the browser which web page to visit, which protocol to use, and which server to get data from.

For example:

Protocol (https://)

Subdomain (www)

Primary domain name (xxx.com)

Path (/news/detail/12345)

From this example, we can clearly see that "xxx.com" is only a part of the entire URL, that is, the URL contains the domain name, but not just the domain name.

2. The role of URL is more detailed than domain name

Domain name is usually used to locate the server, while URL goes a step further and is specific to a certain web page, image, resource, etc. Therefore, in actual operations, such as clicking on news links, visiting product pages, and downloading files, URL is indispensable.

When understanding "what is the difference between URL and domain name", it can be compared like this: domain name is the city name, while URL is the detailed address with the city name, even the street and house number are clearly written.

Three: What is the difference between URL and domain name?

1. Different inclusion relationship

As mentioned above, the URL contains the domain name. But the domain name can exist alone, for example, you can directly enter "xxx.com" to access the homepage, and there is no path attached at this time. The URL is generally a network address containing the full path.

Domain name: xxx.com

URL: https://www.xxx.com/news

From the perspective of "what is the difference between URL and domain name", this inclusion relationship is the most core difference.

2. Different uses and functions

Domain names are mainly used to help users quickly remember website addresses, and are used for domain name registration and brand promotion. They are the logo of a website;

URLs are used to point to specific pages or resources on a website, such as an article or a picture.

Therefore, when optimizing website content and building internal link structures, we are concerned about URL optimization; while when promoting brands and conducting online activities, we pay more attention to the simplicity and spread of domain names.

3. Different technical implementations

From a technical perspective:

Domain names need to be resolved to server IPs through the DNS system;

URLs contain more detailed resource request information, and browsers will access a resource on a website based on the specific path of the URL.

Therefore, when we pay attention to "what is the difference between URLs and domain names", we are also paying attention to the network communication mechanism behind them.

4: The role of domain name registration and domain name preemption in URLs

1. Why should we pay attention to domain names?

A good domain name can not only improve user memory, but also help search engine optimization (SEO). When you choose a short, easy-to-read domain name as the main site domain name, the more times users enter the URL, the more weight will slowly increase. By registering a domain name through Juming.com, you can choose scarce and valuable domain name resources.

2. The value of domain name registration

Many valuable domain names have already been registered, but it does not mean that there is no chance. Through the domain name registration service, you can get these high-quality resources first after the domain name expires. When establishing the URL structure of the website, a good domain name is the basis for optimizing the URL structure. Therefore, grabbing a good domain name is equivalent to seizing the brand opportunity.

Disclaimers:

Domaincn.com Committed to providing fair and transparent reports. This article aims to provide accurate and timely information, but should not be construed as financial or investment advice. Due to the rapidly changing market conditions, we recommend that you verify the information yourself and consult a professional before making any decisions based on this information.