Nearly of the websites y'all can think of probably cease in .com. Yous've also undoubtedly come up across a few that end in .org or .edu.

But did you know you can too annals a domain that ends in .pizza?

Those letters at the tail end of a spider web address are called a domain extension, and there are around 1,500 possibilities. Some are restricted to specific organizations or people, just anyone can apace register most extensions.

That makes choosing the domain proper noun for your website a bit complicated. Should you lot become with yourbusiness.bingo or yourbusiness.fish? If you sell fish, the latter may seem a better fit.

This article introduces domain extensions, including what they are, what they do, and how to choose the best one for your website.

What Is a Domain Extension?

Domain extensions are the messages that follow the final period in a URL. Common extensions include .com, .org, and .net.

Another term for a domain extension is a top-level domain. That'due south considering you can remember of the parts of a domain name as classification levels.

At the tiptop, we have domain extensions. At this level, domains are divided into broad categories.

For example, the domain extension .de puts the domain in the "German" category. Using .gov means the domain is in the "American governmental organization" category.

Domain extensions aren't always used this manner anymore — we'll get to that in a bit — but it was the original intention.

The side by side level down is the domain. That's the part right before the extension. Information technology designates which website the URL belongs to. In the URL kinsta.com, for example, "kinsta" is the domain.

Sometimes there'south another level called a subdomain. Subdomains organize a website into separate parts. For instance, the epitome below shows the URL blog.example.com.

Here, "blog" is the subdomain. The domain might too contain other subdomains similar support.example.com or e-mail.instance.com.

The different parts of a web page URL
Parts of a web page URL. (Source: Ahrefs)

When you register a domain name, you'll take to choose both the name and a domain extension. Subdomains and anything in the URL that comes after the extension tin can be created afterwards.

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Why Do Domain Extensions Exist?

The original purpose of domain extensions was to classify websites by type.

For example, any website with an address ending in .com was supposed to be a commercial site.

But equally you lot know, all sorts of websites apply .com. As the net has evolved, domain extensions take oft been used differently than originally intended.

Here'due south an instance you might exist less familiar with: the extension .fm is supposed to designate a website from Micronesia. But information technology'south currently used by many radio stations and audio streaming sites.

There are extensions, like .gov, that are restricted to specific organizations. Only so many others are open up to anyone.

As a website owner, your domain extension serves a few purposes. It tin tell people what kind of site they're on, it tin inspire trust, and it can create a catchy and memorable URL.

Who'due south in Charge of Domain Extensions?

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) manages domain extensions through its divisions, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authorisation (IANA).

An ICANN-designated registry operates each extension. The registry keeps a database of all domain names which use that extension.

For example, .com, .net, and various other extensions are managed by VeriSign, an American company. Branded extensions are usually managed past the company that registered them. For example, the .samsung registry is operated by Samsung.

Authorities branches or not-profits may operate country-code extensions. For instance, the registry operator for .in is the National Internet Exchange of Bharat.

These registries contract the extension out to ICANN-accredited registrars. These are the companies where you can annals your domain name, like Google Domains or Cloudflare.

The organizations in charge of domain name registration
The organizations in charge of domain name registration. (Source: WHOIS)

Types of Domain Extensions

There are three types of domain extensions: generic TLDs, sponsored TLDs, and country-code TLDs.

gTLDs

The generic TLDs category includes the extensions we all know and love, similar:

  • .com
  • .org
  • .cyberspace

These were some of the first domain extensions, and they were labeled "generic" in dissimilarity to country-code extensions.

In 2011, ICANN started allowing organizations to annals their ain generic domain extensions. That has led to branded extensions and a lot of other random extensions. For example:

  • .pharmacy
  • .baseball
  • .istanbul
  • .toyota
Domain extension examples
Examples of domain extensions.

sTLDs

Sponsored TLDs are extensions used by a specific entity. That could exist a business, a co-operative of government, or another blazon of grouping. For instance, some of the most common sTLDs are:

  • .gov (U.Southward. government)
  • .edu (accredited U.S. post-secondary educational institutions)
  • .mil (U.S. military)

A few bottom-known sTLDs are:

  • .museum (museums)
  • .cat (Catalan language websites)
  • .jobs (websites with job listings)

ccTLDs

State code TLDs represent a specific land, like .jp for Japan. Each land-lawmaking domain extension has its own rules. Some are restricted to organizations in the land, while others are available to anyone.

Some common ccTLDs include:

  • .ru (Russian federation)
  • .cn (Cathay)
  • .de (Federal republic of germany)
  • .ca (Canada)

What Are the Most Mutual Domain Extensions?

While well over a thousand domain extensions are available, you'll see some a lot more than others. Let's expect at a handful of the well-nigh famous ones.

.com

This is the one we all know best. Unsurprisingly, almost l% of websites utilise the .com domain extension.

Information technology may accept once designated a commercial site, but today we tin consider it the default domain extension.

.internet

Like .com, .net is i of the earliest domain extensions. Information technology was created for utilize past organizations involved in networking technologies.

These days, .net is often used equally an alternative to .com. Companies that can't get their preferred .com domain cull .net.

.org

.org was created to be used past non-profits and still is the domain extension of selection for those organizations.

The .org extension is open for anyone to utilise. Notwithstanding, if you choose a .org domain, most people won't await your site to exist commercial.

.edu

In the early days of domain extensions, .edu could be used by whatsoever organization focused on educational activity.

Since 2001, the extension has been restricted to post-secondary institutions accredited past an agency on a specific listing. This ways institutions practise non often use it outside of the U.S.

.gov

The .gov extension can just be used by U.S. government organizations. It was initially only for federal authorities sites, simply in 2003 was opened to state, local, and tribal governments.

A few branches of government don't use .gov, similar the United States Mail service, which uses usps.com.

.mil

.mil is restricted to the divisions, services, and agencies of the U.S. military machine. The U.S. is the only country with a domain extension for its armed services.

.ru, .cn, .uk, etc.

Many land codes are nevertheless commonly used for websites from those countries. Y'all can probably assume that a .jp site, for instance, is actually from Nippon.

But a few country-code domain extensions take been co-opted for other purposes, including the next 1 on this listing.

.io

If you know of whatsoever .io websites, they probably vest to tech companies. In recent years .io has risen in popularity with tech startups every bit it alludes to I/O (Input/Output), a popular tech jargon.

Businesses choose .io because it marks their website as related to technology. It'southward too popular considering .io domains are often bachelor when the .com version is taken.

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But IO likewise stands for the Indian Ocean. The domain extension'due south original purpose was to designate websites from the Biot.

.int

.int stands for international, and it'due south one of the domain extensions with the strictest requirements. Information technology can only exist used by organizations and programs endorsed by an international treaty. For example, the European Space Agency website resides at esa.int.

However, some older .int domains that don't meet the requirements, like ymca.int, take been retained.

.mobi

The .mobi TLD indicates that a site is optimized for mobile devices. A site using .mobi has to comply with requirements fix by the registry.

These days, almost all sites are mobile-friendly, and then designating a separate .mobi site is less valuable than information technology once was.

What Does the Domain Extension Mean for Your Website?

You might exist wondering if it matters which extension you choose for your website. What does a domain extension do for your site in practical terms?

First, it gives potential visitors their starting time impression of your website. Before they've even clicked the link and seen your design and content, people discover whether your site is a .com, .org, or .ninja, and each one will requite them a different impression.

Second, some domain extensions are more than expensive to annals than others. For example, yous're likely to pay more for a .io domain name than one that ends in .com.

Simply your domain extension isn't a choice you should brand purely based on price. Go on in heed that you might make more than money with a trustworthy .com site than the same site registered with a .biz domain name.

Your domain extension doesn't bear on (at least not directly) search engine optimization.

Before long later on the new gTLDs were created, Google's Matt Cutts was asked how they would affect SEO.

He clarified that Google volition e'er try to return the all-time result for the query, no affair what TLD the site uses.

However, your domain extension can affect your page rank indirectly.

Having a memorable and trustworthy domain name benefits your site'southward SEO because people are more likely to click and link to information technology.

How to Choose the Best Domain Extension for Your Website

Choosing a domain name — including the extension — is a big determination.

After all, this is where your website will alive from now on. Follow these all-time practices to pick the domain extension that will do good your website the most.

When in Dubiety, Go Dot Com

For nearly websites, the old reliable .com is the way to become. People recognize and trust .com. If they were going to judge your make'due south website, they would probably get-go with yourbrandname.com.

There are a few cases when it makes sense to use a dissimilar extension.

If your organization falls into a category that has a well-known designated domain extension, you can use that. For example, a non-profit should use .org, and an American university should use .edu.

Some businesses desire to emphasize their location. If they're in Canada, they might choose .ca (simply .com is ameliorate if they operate globally).

While.com is the best domain extension for brands, your brand name is besides critical.

Then what do y'all practise if yourbrandname.com is taken?

Choosing a different extension might make sense. In about cases, you should yet become with something familiar to people, similar .net.

Make It Memorable

If people follow a link to your website, the URL doesn't thing that much.

Just mayhap they've been to your site earlier and want to revisit it. Or possibly, they heard virtually the website from a friend.

In that case, they must remember your domain proper noun.

When it comes to memorability, .com wins. Domains using .com are over 33% more memorable than URLs that utilise other top-level domains. When people forget a domain, they're 3.8 times more probable to presume it ends in .com than anything else.

However, some of the new TLD extensions allow businesses to create memorable, more artistic domains. For example, if your business is Pasta Guru, you could now register pasta.guru (someone has registered that domain already).

A screenshot of trust ratings from growthbadger
How trustworthy and memorable are domain extensions? (Source: GrowthBadger)

Brand Your Site's Purpose Clear

Domain extensions were initially intended to classify sites past their purpose or type.

While things are more flexible these days, your domain name yet gives visitors a clue well-nigh what your site is about.

The default is .com — it tin can exist used for nearly anything. Just if you choose a different extension, make certain it will give visitors the correct impression of what your website is all about.

Avoid Suspicious Sounding Domains

Are you lot more likely to give your credit menu data to buywidgets.com or buywidgets.zilch?

If you lot chose the first 1, you're not alone.

People tend to be wary of specific domain extensions, often with good reason. There are extensions that spammy sites have almost entirely taken over.

So how do you avoid a sketchy-sounding domain name?

Unless you authorize for something like .gov or .mil, your best bet is to stick with (yous guessed it) .com.

a list of safe vs shady domain extensions
Rubber vs shady domain extensions. (Source: Softpedia)

Can You Invent Your Ain Domain Extension?

With all these crazy words at the stop of URLs, could you make upwardly your ain?

Technically, the answer is yes. You can apply to annals a brand new generic domain extension (gTLD). Though, for most individuals and small business organisation owners, it's non a realistic choice.

First of all, yous can't just apply at any time — yous take to wait for ICANN to open for applications. No 1 knows when that will happen next, just many people are guessing 2022.

Mayhap y'all're willing to wait that long. Next, you'll need to pay an application fee. During the last registration period, that fee was $185,000.

If that's a worthy investment to secure your brand'south unique domain extension, you can start filling out the awarding. ICANN has a list of requirements your domain extension will accept to meet. For instance, it can't be "confusingly similar" to another TLD.

Y'all'll too need the technical capacity to human action equally a registry for all the sites that apply this extension.

In other words, yourbrandname.com volition work only fine for your website.

How to Annals a Domain Extension

You can choose your domain extension when y'all annals your domain name.

Not every domain extension is available from every domain registrar. However, major registrars like Google Domains, GoDaddy, and Namecheap will have many TLDs, including the virtually common ones.

Some extensions will probably be more expensive than others. If you've chosen a domain proper name and extension that you lot know is bachelor, you can shop around at a few registrars to see who offers the best price.

A list of domain extension options at NameCheap
Domain extension options at NameCheap.

A few less common domain extensions volition only be offered at niche registrars.

If you tin can't detect a place to register your extension of choice, you lot can effort to figure out who'south in charge of it. To exercise that, visit this listing of TLDs. Click on the extension you want and gyre down to "Registry Information."

You lot should encounter a link to the organization that registered the extension. In some cases, it volition exist a domain name registrar that you tin use.

The gTLD might also belong to a brand or organisation that plans to go on the extension to itself.

Can a Domain Extension Be Changed?

Wish you had chosen a different domain extension for your website?

You lot can alter it by setting up a 301 redirect. 301 redirects allow search engines know that the folio you want to ship visitors has moved.

First, you'll need to annals your new domain proper noun and create a clone of your site using the updated extension. Then you'll redirect all of your URLs to the latest version.

Here's a handy tutorial on redirecting your WordPress site to a new domain.

Changing your domain name can temporarily affect SEO. But if y'all practise them right, your rankings should be dorsum to normal speedily.

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Summary

It may just be a few brusk letters at the end of your domain name, but your domain extension is an essential part of your website.

Information technology tin can brand the website URL seem trustworthy and memorable — or it can do the opposite. It tin can brand a difference in how much your website costs to create and maintain. And it can give visitors data about your website.

The apply of domain extensions has changed with time, and it will continue to change.

In the future, the new TLDs might overtake the onetime standards. .io might be the extension for every tech company. Merely today, a tried-and-truthful TLD similar .com or .org is still your all-time selection.

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