Before the domain name search

Before going to the domain name seach  we need to first explain what domain names are.
What is a domain name?  It is an alphanumeric direction to a web site and other resources.  An example is veld.com Technically, web sites "live" at Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, e.g., 199.236.82.83  Since people more easily remember names than numbers, the domain name, e.g. mycompany.com is used as an easy and universal way of locating a resource on the web, e.g., your web site.  The domain name is sometimes called a Universal Resource Locator (URL).  The http:// part just tells your browser to expect a web page, instead of something else.
What are the parts of a domain name?  Being alphanumeric, the first part of the domain name can have 1 to 22 characters, including the standard English letters (a to z), the digits (0 to 9), and the hyphen (-) as long as it is not in the first or last place.  There is then a dot, followed by a two- or three-letter root, so you could have mycompany.com, mycompany.net, mycompany.org, or any of 239 other root endings, e.g. mycompany.de in the case of a German registration.
What is a domain?  In conversation we often use the expressions "domain name" and "domain" interchangeably, but there is a subtle and important difference.  While the domain name is a locator, the domain is the actual wrapper.  Your domain is all the resources that fall under your domain name.  While your web site is the most obvious resource within your domain, your e-mail is an equally valuable resource.  By owning a domain name mycompany.com, you can also send and receive e-mail as me@mycompany.com and maybe also mybusinesspartner@mycompany.com depending on how you have the domain hosted.