Many of us already know what a domain name is and use one as the primary identifier for our websites.  Domain names were created to simplify the source destination location of computers on networks and the Internet by providing a more memorable name than using the computer’s IP address.  So rather than having to remember 201.134.10.5/somefolder, we can now easily remember it as www.mywebsite.com .

How many domains are there?

Today more than 91 million domains are active across the primary TDL (Top Level Domains) such as .com, .net, .org, .info, .biz and .us, according to DomainTools.com, which also claims an average of more than 450,000 domains are registered everyday.  They also claim that the first domain on record was symbolics.com in March 1985. Another one of the first domains registered was Hewlett-Packard’s hp.com in March 1986.
Can I have more than one domain?

Some companies register many domain names for new products, new divisions or just to have them for future growth.  Google.com, as an example, owns more than 520 domains reserved either for future use or to redirect visitors to the main Google.com website.  In some cases companies will also register domains to protect themselves. Google.com, for instance, owns the domain googlesucks.com to avoid a disgruntled person from registering that domain and putting up a website with negative comments about the search engine giant.

Who should have a domain name?

If you own your own business you should have a domain name registered even if you don’t have a website.  Having your own domain will allow you to reserve it for future use or at a minimum set up an email account so you can start branding your organization with people you communicate with.  Since many of us change our ISPs regularly it’s always good to have a consistent email address in case we move from one provider to another, so we can avoid having to tell all our contacts to update their address books.