A Domain Name is a string of text that maps to a numeric IP address, used by humans to access a website.

Any device that is connected to the internet has a unique Internal Protocol (IP) address that other devices use to find it.

There are two main types of IP address that you will probably recognise. The first is Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4), which is one of the most regularly used version of IP: 192.168.1.1. The second is Internet Protocol version 6, which is the most recent IP version: 2001:db8::8a2e:370:7334.

However, it wouldn’t be practical for us humans to have to remember all these long and seemingly random series of numbers and letters to access websites (“to register, just go to 2001:db8::8a2e…”) - enter domain names!

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