Domain

You will need a domain name – such as example.com – to directly access your services from outside your Local Area Network (LAN).  We will using this domain name to forward traffic to our Public IP address on the Wide Area Network (WAN).

You can access your services away from home without a domain by using a VPN.  Domain names can still add a level of convenience while still restricting access to your local area network.

Web Domain

Domain names are purchased through a domain registrar and there is a wide potential price range. Registrars often algorithmically assign prices for available domains based on expected popularity and ICANN registration fees.  

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Dynamic DNS 

There are also free services that allow you to register an account and link your web server to their domain as a subdomain – such as DuckDNS or a similar Dynamic DNS service on your router.  These give you a sub-domain name to use – such as user.duckdns.org – that can be automatically updated to point at your server.

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