What is the difference between web site address and domain name?

Isn’t a domain name same as a web site address? After all, they refer to the same thing.
Anubha Mathur

Yes, a domain name and a web site address essentially mean the same thing and can be used interchangeably. But, and there is always a ‘but’, sometimes the two can be slightly different. A domain name is only a name with an extension while a web site address might have a username / account name. Let me explain this in plain English.

A domain name consist of only two parts – a name and an extension. For example, WebDevelopersNotes.com is the domain name and the web address of this site.

However, in case of a Tumblr account, tumblr.com/webdevelopersnotes, the domain name and the web site’s address are different. The domain name is just tumblr.com while the address of a user’s blog also includes the username.

The same is true for other services like Twitter and Facebook. The domain name is that of the service while the web site name includes the account name too!

• Twitter: Twitter.com/webdevnotes
• Facebook: Facebook.com/webdevelopersnotes

Having explained all this, in most scenarios, there is no difference between a domain name and a web site address. Please note, however, that the domain name and URL are different!

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