A Web Address (or Domain Name) is the Internet equivalent of your business address online. Your Web Address acts as both your storefront and an address, giving your customers a place to visit online whenever they want to contact you, find out more about your business, or purchase your products and services.

No two names are alike
One of the most important aspects of Web Addresses is that they are unique. No two people or organizations can have the same Web Address simultaneously. So if you register the Web Address mycompany.com, you ensure that everyone in the world who types mycompany.com into a Web browser will be taken directly to you and only to you.

Your new Web Address can...

1. Act as your online storefront, providing an address where people from around the world can purchase your products
2. Help you create and promote your Internet identity and establish your brand in front of an audience, potentially, of millions
3. Be a point of contact, a place where prospective customers can find out about your products and current customers can get support after the sale

Another benefit of registering a Web Address is that it gives your company an advantage over your competitors who do not yet have an Internet presence. A Web Address also puts you in the same global business environment as larger companies with larger budgets.

(excerpts from Network Solutions' Domain Names 101)