Domain vs URL: Understand the Differences

This article explains the difference between a Domain x URL. They may look similar, but there are some differences. Basically, the domain name is a part of a URL.

A domain is the main part of a web address that identifies a website (like example.com). It’s the core name people use to find your site, independent of pages or sections.

A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the complete web address that directs to a specific location or resource on the internet. It includes the protocol (like https://), the domain, and often additional elements like a path (/about), query parameters (?id=123), or fragments (#section1).

In short, the domain is part of a URL, but a URL gives a complete path to a resource on a website.

What is a domain name?

Firstly, a domain name (RFC 1035) is an internet resource name. It locates an organization or other entity on the Internet. In general, a domain name is an address via which internet users can access your website. The Domain names are assigned as per the rules and procedures of the Domain Name System (DNS protocol). Any publicly-accessible name in the DNS is a domain name. 

To access any web-based service a user needs to use a valid domain name.

Examples of domain names: copahost.com, google.com, yahoo.com

What is a URL?

URL stands for the Uniform Resource Locator (RFC 1738). It is a unique identifier that is used for locating the files on the internet. It’s a web address, that we use to identify a specific resource on the network. 

For example, in the URL: http://blog.example.com:80/about?id=123#

There elements of a URL:

• Protocol: Specifies how data is transferred (e.g., http:// or https://).
• Domain name: The website’s main address, like example.com.
• Subdomain (optional): Appears before the domain, such as blog. in blog.example.com.
• Port (optional): Used for network services, often omitted (e.g., :80 for HTTP).
• Path: Directs to specific pages or directories, like /about.
• Query parameters (optional): Provide extra data to the server, starting with ?, as in ?id=123.
• Fragment (optional): Links to a section on the page, starting with #.

This image shows the elements of a basic URL

Examples of URLs:

So the format of a URL is always: protocol + subdomain + domain + path + filename.

Domain name x URL. How to extract the domain name from the URL

There are differences between URL and domain names. The URL is a string of information providing the complete address of the web page on the internet.

Whereas domain name is a part of URL which is a user-friendly form of IP address. We use the URL for identifying a particular web page.

For example, http://www.abzwebpedia.com/index.html is a complete URL. “abzwebpedia.com” is the domain name.

Moreover, the subdivisions of URL are done on the basis of the method, hostname (domain name), port and path. However, the domain name is a subdomain, domain and top-level domain,

Domain vs URL: The differences

A domain is the core name of a website, acting as the online identity for a brand or individual, like example.com. This name is unique across the internet and can be easily remembered by users. Domains don’t specify any additional paths or resources within the website; they only refer to the general “address” that brings visitors to the main page of the website.

A URL (Uniform Resource Locator), on the other hand, is the full web address that specifies an exact location on the internet. A URL starts with a protocol (e.g., http or https), followed by the domain and often additional parts, like a path to a particular page or section (/about), query parameters (?id=123), or a fragment (#section). In this way, a URL provides a complete path, allowing users to access specific resources within the website.

In essence, a domain is a critical component of a URL, but the URL encompasses more details to locate a particular piece of content within that domain. For instance, in the URL https://example.com/blog?id=123, the domain example.com points to the main site, while the rest of the URL (/blog?id=123) specifies a detailed path to a specific blog post or page within the site.

Understanding this distinction is important for website navigation and design. Domains serve as memorable, unique names for websites, while URLs allow for specific resources within the site to be shared, bookmarked, or found through search engines. This structure gives websites flexibility in organizing content and enables users to locate precise information with ease.

What is a subdomain?

Simply, subdomain or also referred to as a child domain is domain name with a prefix. It is basically part of the main domain name. For example, www.abz.com is a URL and “www” is the subdomain. 

Here’s the basic difference between a domain and a subdomain:

• abz.com is the main domain name
• store.abz.com is a subdomain
• private.abz.com is a subdomain

The organization of domain names (by countries)

Each country organizes its domain names according to a hierarchy. So, the Internet domain names come in four major types.  For instance, they are top-level domains, second-level domains, third-level domains, and country domains. These domains are further segregated into the subsections so as to provide information about the various given domains.

For organizing the domain names for countries, each nation in the world is designated a top-level Internet domain. Each of them has a unique two-letter alphabetic code. Basically, each country has a specific entity, responsible for its top-level domains (TLD’s).

When we consider domain vs URL, only the domain name may have a relation with a specific country. So, the URL is not “country-sensitive”.

Some examples of country-specific TLD’s:

• Brazil – .br
• Italy – .it
• Portugal – .pt
• Mexico – .mx
• China – .cn
• Russia – .ru
• India –  .in

Examples of international TLD’s (domain extensions not related to a specific country):

• .com
• .net
• .org
• .info
• .biz
• .blog

What are the differences between HTTP and HTTPS in the URL

Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is a protocol. In other words, it’s a set of rules and standards.

Moreover, the hyper-text exchanged using HTTP goes as plain text. Thus this protocol is not secure and is susceptible to interception. Whereas, on the other hand, HTTPS is a secure protocol. It works in conjunction with TLS/SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificate. The certificate, then, is to ensure the authentication of the flow of information between the browser and the server. This other article HTTP vs HTTPS explain in details this difference inside the URL.

DNS and URL

How does the DNS Server work in case of a specific URL? The domain name is responsible for the DNS resolving. First of all, as we request a specific URL from a server, the local DNS resolver of our provider will find its domain name. Then, if there is a subdomain it will ask for the IP address of it. Then, having the IP address, our browser will connect to the webserver, and ask for the content inside the path of it.

Let’s exemplify step by step how the DNS works with a URL:

• Firstly, we will try to access this URL: https://login.bikestore.com/internal/file.html
• Then, the DNS resolver queries the domain name bikestore.com for the IP address of the subdomain login.bikestore.com
• Now, having its IP address, it will establish a connection with the webserver.
• And finally, being connected to the web server, it will ask for the contents of the URL path and file /internal/file.html

Some more examples

Path in a URL

For example, let’s consider a URL: https://secure.somesite.com/internal/data/file.html

What’s the path in this URL? Answer: the path in this URL is /internal/data/

Domain vs URL prefix

Another example, let’s consider a URL: https://store.canadian.com/login/area.html

In this sample, the URL prefix is https://, which is also considered the protocol.

The domain name is canadian.com. The subdomain is store.canadian.com