There are two services that you need for a functioning site - a domain name and a website hosting plan for it. If you type the domain name in your web browser, you see the content that’s uploaded within the hosting account, but if that domain address isn't linked to such an account or to an e-mail service, it is parked. Put simply, the Internet domain is registered and you're its owner, but it doesn't have any content of its own. Rather, it can open either a pre-made “Under Construction / For Sale” Internet page from the registrar company, or it could be directed to any other URL of your choice. The main benefit of parking a domain name is that you can keep it and make certain that nobody else is going to take it. At the same time, it won't block a slot for a hosted domain address inside your account. You may also park domain names if you have a .com, for instance, and you register domain addresses with other extensions such as .net, .org or country-code ones to direct them to the main website in order to protect a brand name.