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Domain names were created to make navigation on the Internet easier. They provide a way for a textual name like "Atlbiz.Com" to represent a numerical IP address such as "198.162.37.59". Since computers work with numbers and people are better at remembering names, domain names are needed to provide a shortcut to the IP addresses which computers must use.

Providing a convenient shortcut is probably the biggest benefit of domain names since they allow people to work with familiar names instead of numbers. The second benefit of domain names is that always point to the correct IP address.

Websites frequently move from one computer to another during their lifetime. This occurs due to routine maintenance, moving to a new hosting provider, or even the hosting provider changing their backbone provider. When this happens, the website's IP address changes and everyone must now use this new number. This situation is analagous to when a company moves and their phone number changes.