South Sudan will officially launch the Dotss (.ss) Country Code Top-Level Domain (ccTLD) on the 1st of June 2020, this means the public will be able to buy their domains from www.namesforus.com and other platforms out there
The following terms are important in understanding how the domain name ecosystem works.
Domain: A domain name is your website name. A domain name is the address Internet users can access your website, for example, www.namesforus.com or www.southsudan.com. This is subscribed for by-annually
Hosting: it is the physical location of your website on the Internet, an online storage centre that houses the information, images, video, and other content that comprises your website. It is like a house where you store your online content, the bigger the house (in gigabytes) the more you have to pay for it.
Domain Name – The name of your website, which follows the ‘www.’ in the URL, and also what follows the @ symbol in an email address. For example, in ‘www.namesforus.com’ then ‘namesforus.com’ is the actual domain name.
Country Code Top-Level Domain (ccTLD) – These are two-letter domain names that are associated with a specific country, such as .us for the United States or .ca for Canada and .ss for south sudan.
Registrant: The owner of a domain name, or corporation in control of the registration of the domain, either of which is listed on the domain name’s name record.
Registrar – An accredited business or organization that sells domain registration services to the public, in our case www.namesforus.com is a registrar.
Registry – An organization that maintains and controls top-level domains (TLDs). They generally don’t sell domains directly to the public and instead sell domains through 3rd party registrars. In South Sudan the National Information Center (NIC) which is being managed by National Community Authority (NCA) at the moment.
Nameserver – A web server that stands in as a resource directory, sometimes for another server.
Renewal – The process of re-registering a domain name for another year(s) to continue ownership of the domain.
Premium Domain – A high-value domain name that has been previously registered. They often contain valuable SEO keywords. Premium domain names have stronger branding potential, are easier to remember, and attract more website traffic than standard domain names.
Reseller – An individual agent or affiliate of a specific registrar who sells domain name services.
Reverse Domain Hijacking – The process of trying to obtain a legitimately owned domain name by using false claims to contest its ownership.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – The practice of tweaking and optimizing your website, or the content on a page, with the goal of showing up higher in search engine results.
Transfer – Moving a domain name from one registrar to another without giving up ownership.
Redemption Period – After a domain name registration expires, and after the grace period, when the previous owner can still renew the domain, but usually at a higher price.
Grace Period – The period after a domain name registration expires, but can still be renewed by the registrant, and before the domain is offered up for general sale.
WHOIS – A system that makes it possible to search the owner information of a registered domain name, as well as other details such as contact information.
SSL Security/Certificate (Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol): SSL certificates create an encrypted connection and establish trust. One of the most important components of online business is creating a trusted environment where potential customers feel confident in making purchases. SSL certificates create a foundation of trust by establishing a secure connection.
