The second-level domain (SLD) is the label immediately to the left of the top-level domain. In example.com, the SLD is example. It is typically the part you choose and register, and it carries your brand.
Some ccTLDs use a structured second level for registrations, such as .co.uk, .com.au or .co.jp. In those cases your chosen name actually sits at the third level (for example, example.co.uk), although many of these registries now also allow direct second-level registrations like example.uk.
Labels can be up to 63 characters each and may contain letters, digits and hyphens, but cannot begin or end with a hyphen.
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Related terms
- Subdomain
- A subdomain is a label added before your domain, like blog.example.com or shop.example.com, that you create free in your own DNS settings.
- Registrar
- A registrar is a company accredited to sell and manage domain registrations on behalf of customers, such as Namecheap, Porkbun or Cloudflare.
- Registry
- A registry is the organization that operates a top-level domain, maintaining its database of names and setting wholesale prices and policies.
- ICANN
- ICANN is the nonprofit that coordinates the global domain name system, accredits registrars and sets policy for generic top-level domains.