Definitions of Domain Name Extensions
Understand domain name extensions to use them effectively when choosing an Internet address for domain registration with your blog or website. Select the best one to help your domain name give online visitors insight into your organization, increase search engine visibility and relevance, and reinforce your brand in the mind of your customers. Target your geographic area or industry with a specialized one when adding to your domain roster.
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Learn Domain Name Extension Basics
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Domain name extensions, commonly known as TLDs (Top Level Domains), are the first element of the domain name structure. They're the two, three, or more letters to the right of the right-hand period in a domain's URL. One company, called a domain registry, is in charge of a particular TLD and all domains ending with it.
Domain name extensions having three letters are known as Generic Top Level Domains (gTLD), .com is the best-known gTLD. Other established ones are .org, .gov and .edu. Two-letter TLDs, and a few longer ones, usually designate countries and territories. They're called "country-code" TLDs and serve a country or regional area.
Explore Domain Name History
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Thank Internet Pioneer Jon Postel (1943-1998) for the Domain Naming System, established in 1984, that enables Web surfing. DNS technology translates obscure numeric Internet locators into domain names we use today. Jon began The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, instituting Internet technical standards leading to our present domain naming structure.
As business and private usage of the Web grew, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) was established as a non-profit corporation in 1998, overseeing domain registration, original and new gTLD management and the operational stability of the Internet.
Use Domain Name Extensions Effectively
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Look at the intended purposes of domain name extensions to use them appropriately. For example, .com was originally intended for businesses, .org was to be a gTDL for non-profits, and .net used for network providers. These are now used more generally in domain naming.
Other, more obvious gTLDs are .mil for armed services, .gov for government use and .edu for educational institutions. These are restricted to their specialized areas. Consider newer domain name extensions for your URL requirements, such as .info or .biz with your business or informational website. Use the more personal .name extension for incorporating your own identity into a domain name.
Consider Additional Domain Name Extensions
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Geo-target your business by using a "country-code" ccTLD in your domain name to home in on your principal market area. Some examples are .us for the United States, .uk for Great Britain and .asia, for the Pan-Asian region. Smaller regions also have their own TLDs, such as .my for Malaysia or .ph for the Phillipines.
Take advantage of mobile online devices and services with the newer .mobi domain name extension that was created specifically to address the fast-growing gobal personal communications marketplace.
Evaluate other specialized domain names suitable for your industry. Some are .aero, for aviation, .pro, for credentialed professionals, and .travel, for the travel business.
Expect New Domain Name Extension Developments
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The introduction of the International Domain Naming system, known as IDN, has begun with the Middle Eastern countries. IDN entails using non-Latin characters in domain name extensions and enabling the address technology of the Internet to recognize them. Arabic is being initially evaluated because of its widespread usage.
Domain naming technology must follow the rapid growth of the World Wide Web. ICANN takes this commitment seriously, balancing public scrutiny, global Internet demands and new technology to give us the Internet's functional connectivity and global communications reliability that we so often take for granted.
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