Domainetuliitteet

Domainetuliitteet, often translated as domain prefixes, are specific strings of characters that precede the main part of a domain name. These prefixes are not part of the registered domain name itself but are used by Domain Name System (DNS) servers to direct traffic to the correct resource. The most common example is "www", which historically indicated a web server. When a user types "www.example.com", the DNS system typically resolves this to the IP address associated with the "example.com" domain.

Other common prefixes include "mail" or "smtp" for mail servers, and "ftp" for file transfer protocol servers. These prefixes help to distinguish different services hosted under the same main domain. For instance, "mail.example.com" might point to a different server or IP address than "www.example.com". While "www" is still widely used and often automatically handled by web browsers and servers, it is technically an optional subdomain prefix. Many websites function perfectly well when accessed without the "www" prefix, such as "example.com", because DNS records can be configured to handle requests for both versions. The use of specific domain prefixes is a convention rather than a strict technical requirement for basic website access.