What Exactly is Domain Name Extension?

The domain extension is one of the most for-granted things when creating a website. But you are intelligent as you choose the best possible domain extension.

But before going for any TLD (without paying much time for research), you must at least read your article, as it will help you pick the right domain name extension for your site.

So, let’s begin:

Before going towards the list, you must be completely clear about domain name extensions. It will help you choose the right one.

You might already know that a domain name was written before ‘.’ on your website’s URL, which is your business name (in most cases).

For example, in ‘something.com,’ something is your domain name. While everything that comes after ‘.’ is a domain name extension which is also known as TLD (top-level domain).  

5 Official Types of Domain Name Extensions or TLDs

Now, let’s move towards the types of domain name extensions as it will surely help you find the best one for you:

1.   ccTLDs

Country code top-level domains are used to target the audience of a specific country like .us or .in. But the fun part is that although there are 196 countries in the world, there are 312 ccTLDs you can use. It’s because different territories of the same countries have different domain extensions.

2.   sTLDs

These are sponsored TLDs!

Governments or big organizations use these sponsored domain extensions to distinguish themselves from the common websites. “.gov” and “.edu” are the most commonly used ones.

These institutes mostly use these domain extensions with any other domain extension, like something.gov.com.

3.   gTLDs

These are probably the most commonly used TLDs. gTLD stands for generic top-level domain, and ‘.com’ is the best example of it. You can also call them general or standard domain extensions.

4.   tTLDs

Test TLDs are probably the most rarely used domains. Big and (mostly) scientific organizations use these domains to save their test results or documents online.

Some of its examples are:

• .example
• .test

5.   iTLD

Only one domain extension is iTLD (or infrastructure TLD). It’s also known as Address and Routing Parameter Area (ARPA) and is written as .arpa. It’s only used for technical infrastructure purposes, and the common man can’t use it.

Does Domain Name Extension Really Matter?

At the moment, TLDs are used for many reasons. But the main purpose of domain name extension is to distinguish between the different websites, and this was the primary reason for creating.

Other reasons why you should pay attention to them are:

• They help with branding
• If you want to target a specific audience, they help you and your audience to determine it.
• They help you serve a specific region like .eu, which means that your site will only be seen in Europe (if you want).

List of the Best Domain Name Extensions

Every domain extension has its different purpose. We have just compiled the best ones according to internet experts. It does never mean that you can’t choose a domain extension that isn’t on the list. Got it?

1.   .net

Not just one of the best but also one of the most commonly used domain extensions. In the beginning, internet service providers or network-related companies used this. But now, almost every technology-related or web-based business wants to use it.

2.   .edu

Educational institutes, especially those who work under any country’s government, use this TLD. If you use this TLD, your audience will immediately understand that you are a legit educational institution. But it’s not easy to get this domain extension in many regions of the world.

3.   .me

Although it’s originally a ccTLD as its official domain of Montenegro, most people use it to represent themselves as it says “me.”

Every time someone buys this domain extension, he has to pay the government of Montenegro. Anyways, people use it to show that the website is either their personal blog or portfolio.

4.   .uk

It’s just another ccTLD that is used to target the audience of the UK. Not just this, but almost every British business uses this domain extension to show that it originated from the UK, like bbc.co.uk.

5.   .ly

“No, please, not another ccTLD.”

Sorry! But it’s also a ccTLD which is the official ccTLD of a quite small country Libya. Not many people from this country use this domain extension.

But URL shortening sites like bit.ly made it a trend to use ‘.ly’ as it can be the ending of many words like:

• Usually
• Brilliantly and so on.

6.   .biz

It sounds like the initial part of “business”, and this is the reason why new businesses are using this domain extension so often now. You should also go for it if you are making a business website, as it is quite a trusted and memorable domain name extension.

Conclusion

If you know the basics about domain extensions, you must have heard about TLDs like .com and .us. Now, these TLDs were missing in this article.

Please choose nicely your domain name extension before build up your new website for long term benefit.

We don’t want to change regularly our domain name extension because its will give some confusing and will have not good reputation for our brand.

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