Domain names work a little like phone numbers, enabling computers using the internet to find specific locations (such as a website or an email inbox).
A domain name can be used in the place of a string of numbers called an Internet Protocol address – commonly known as an IP address. In a web address, the domain name is the words that come after www., and in an email address it comes after the @ symbol.
Just as in a telephone directory, there needs to be a system in place to make sure each address connects to the place it should. This is where the Domain Name System (DNS) comes in, by putting in place a set of rules to ensure each domain name is unique.