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Best Domain Extensions For Startups

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What is the best domain extension for my startup? With which domain extension can my business get the most out of it? What is the best option if I lose .com for my brand? These are some common questions for the entrepreneurs who are planning to launch a website for their businesses. True, it is a tough decision to make when there are too many domain extensions or TLDs available. Well, this article will lead you to the perfect domain extension for your website.

How Important Is A Domain Name For Your Business?

First of all, let’s learn why a domain name; a perfect domain name is important for your business/startup.

  • Shows that you are technologically updated

The domain name is the online identity of your business. As we live in a digital era, you have to upgrade your business according to the latest online versions or otherwise, you’ll miss a bunch of customers. So the domain name shows your customers that you are available and upgraded with the new technology.

  • Professional

It makes your business look professional to your customers and competitors. Having a domain name with a suitable and recognizable domain extension improves your business credibility. 

  • Agrees With The Customer Expectations

As mentioned before, customers expect you to be upgraded with the new technology. You need to be available with whatever update that comes related to your business. Most of the customers prefer to shop online, so with a domain name you can present your products and services directly to your customers. You won’t miss customers that prefer to shop online when you have a domain name.

  • Creates awareness

A strong domain name creates awareness about your brand name. With a strong and well-known domain name, you can get a memorable domain name too. And with a strong domain name, you can grab customers’ attention. 

  • Upgrades your reputation

The domain name is a doorway that your business gets to a whole new active social and marketing platform. So you can grow your business by discovering new customers, trying new social media platforms, and maintaining a strong online customer relationship.

What Are The Most Popular TLDs?

Although over 1500 top domain extensions have been introduced, only around 20 are popular or common. We have listed the most popular TLDs as follows.

What Are The Top Five TLDs?

Simply put, Top-level domains or TLDs are the part that comes after the dot of a particular domain name.for example, in the domain name www.brinso.com the TLD is .com. Originally five domain extensions were introduced by the ICANN they are, .com, .net, .org, .edu and .gov.

Here is some information about each of these top domain extensions.

.Com

This is the most popular domain extension on the internet and nearly half of the businesses using this domain extension for their domain name. It is said more than 100 million businesses have registered with .com domain extension for their websites. This domain extension is popular not only for business websites but for any type of websites.

For example -: google.com, amazon.com, apple.com

.Net

This domain extension introduced on the 1st of January 1985 .net is also one of the most used and popular domain extensions with a long history. This domain extension can be used for networking websites such as the website of networking companies, internet service providers, hosting websites, etc.

.Org

.org is the shortened form of organization. This was also introduced on the 1st of January 1985. Highly used by non-profitable organizations all over the world. According to the findings, more than 10 million domain names of organizations have registered with this domain extension. 

But here are some organizations that registered with .com domain extension.

Ted.com

National geographic.com

Focus on the family.com

Also some companies use .org domain extension for their community service part while using .com domain for their main business.

Ex: google.com and google.org

.Edu

This domain extension is the shortened form of Education. .Edu was also introduced on the 1st of January 1985. Although you think this domain extension can be used for any education domain name, you are wrong. This domain extension is limited to American education centers. Because of that, there are many educational websites on the internet registered with the .com extension.

Bigthink.com

Brightstorm.com

Thefutureschannel.com

.Gov

.gov stood for the government. But this cannot be used for any governmental agency from any country other than, American federal governmental agencies.

What Can Domain Industry Experts Say About Startup Domain Extensions 2020?

Namecheap has released their latest report on trends of the startup domain extensions 2020. We decided to highlight the important facts in the report for your reference. Undoubtedly .com is the king of all the domain extensions for all the time including 2020.

 According to the report, the top three TLDs of the last year are occupied by .com, .xyz, .club domain extensions . In comparison to the year 2019, instead of .info, .club has rocketed to the third most popular domain extension of 2020. 

The most popular ccTLD is .co (Colombia) and the report says that it is the second most popular choice of the most who cannot have .com. 

.cyou (acronyms for see you), .miami (miami businesses), .so (Somalia) are the top three new introduced domain extensions in 2020 by Namecheap. 

.Com registrations were 48% in 2020, an increase of 9% over 2019. And the report further says that, over 50% of Namecheap customers own only one domain name. Further over the past 10 years, .info, .xyz, .us are the most popular TLDs if .com is not considered. 

Namecheap recommends with their past 10 years of experience, October, September, August, November, March and December are the best months to register a domain name .

Brinso highly recommends Namecheap’s report for the enthusiasts who treat the domain name as a prior requirement for their business and who want to maintain a good online presence for their businesses. You can even download this Domain insight and trends report for the future reference.

Top TLDs In The Year 2021 For Your Industry!!!

According to the latest research by the Name Cheap company on TLDs, these are the top domain extensions industry wise in the past year 2021. You can use these domain extensions unless you are looking for .com domain extensions for your startup.

  • IT Industry– .io, .dev, .app, site, online, .live
  • Social industry– .fun, .fit, .yoga
  • Tourism industry– .world, .london, .asia
  • Photography industry– .design, .art, .studio
  • Financial industry- .cc, .finance, .cash
  • Businesses- .agency, .ltd, .company
  • Food and beverage – .bar, .coffee, .cafe
  • Blogs- .me, .pro, .blog
  • Sports- .stream, .win, .gg
  • Retail shops- .store, .shops, .services
  • Real estates- .casa, .house, .properties

What Are Country Code TLDs(ccTLDs) And When To Use Them?

There are over 300 country code top level domain extensions which covers specific geographic areas. Most of the countries in the world have their own Top Level domain extensions for example, .us(United States), .uk(United Kingdom), .il(Israel), .ca (Canada). According to wikipedia, 40% of the domain name industry is represented by the CCTLDs. You can use your cc TLD if you are targeting customers only from your country for your business, in other words if you have no plans to introduce your business to the other countries; country code TLDs are perfect.

Even some businesses use Country Code TLDs for different purposes, such as .io is the Country Code TLD for British Indian Ocean Territory but some tech startups use this as IO is a technological term common in the Tech industry. However, we do not recommend this method to launch your business startup.

What Makes .Com A Smart Choice?

Although many domain extensions have been introduced to websites, why is everyone fighting to get .com domain extensions for their businesses or websites? 

This is why…

01. Trustworthiness

Research shows that .com has been recognized by many customers as more trustworthy than other domain extensions. For example, word.com vs word.net what will you choose between these domain names?  It’s word.com. Because the domain names with .com extensions are more attractive and trustworthy. And also customers assume your business is legal and they can trust your product and services. So you can earn customers’ trust with the .com domain extension which is one of the crucial goals of a business.

02. Uniqueness

There should be some reasons for nearly half of the websites on the internet to have the .com domain extension for their website. One of these reasons is it gives your website a unique appearance or in other words, protection. Assume that you start a website as Chair.com and there is a website on the internet in the same brand name but with a different domain extension as Chairs.net. The legal ownership of the brand name becomes yours with the .com extension. So it gives protection and uniqueness to your business.

03. Memorability

Domain names with .com can easily memorize than other domain extensions. Researchers have found that people like to remember domain names with .com domain extension over other Top Level Domain Extensions.

04. Customer Recognition

Do you know? Most people assume that a particular domain name ends up with a .com domain extension when they cannot remember or not sure the domain name. So customers determine your domain name should end up with .com domain extension because they trust .com extension over other extensions.

05. Global Reach

Unless some other domain extensions, the.com can be used for any type of business. If you start a website with your country’s code, it becomes a website available only in the country, or local website. But with.com extension you can get global customers to reach your website and get higher traffic!!!

06. Easy With SEO

Once you have created a website, it is a challenge to rank your website well. The .com is the domain extension that works best with the Search Engine Optimization(SEO). With a .com domain extension you have a better chance to rank well.

Pros And Cons Of TLDs

TLD Pros Cons
.COM Higher recognition and trustworthiness from the customers. Less Availability and higher prices
.Net Available for low prices Only a limited group can benefit and less popularity with less trustworthiness
.Org Higher availability, trusted by the customers all over the world and cheaper than .com extension In comparison to .com lesser user recognition and limited to non-profitable organizations

There are more domain extensions for domain names such as, .Pro, .Biz, .Name, .online, .me, .mobi, .asia, .cat, .jobs, .fit, .life, .tech, .design, .moda, .coach and many more to select the perfect domain extension according to your website type.

Other TLD Options You Can Use For Your Industry

As mentioned earlier, there are over 1500 domain extensions available for startups and you have an idea why you should get a .com domain extension for your business. But if you have an interest in finding out what are the other domain extensions related to your industry, we have listed some of the industries below.

  • Apparel Industry Businesses- .clothing, .design, .global
  • IT Industry Businesses-  .tech, .technology, .ai, .xyz, .host, .cloud, .app, .software, .io, .dev, .network, .solutions, .computer
  • Fashion Industries Businesses-  .fashion, .clothing
  • Beauty Industry Business-  .salon, .beauty
  • Food and Beverage Business- .beer, .catering, .cooking, .eat, .farm, .kitchen, .menu, .pizza, .recipes, .pub, .rest, .restaurant, .wine, .swiss
  • Sports Industry Business- .bike, .club, .futbol, .golf, .run, .ski, .tennis, .yoga
  • Travel Industry Business- .travel, .vacations, .tours, .voyage, .holiday, .flights, .guide, .city, .taxi, .cab
  • E-commerce Business- .store, .supply, .shop, .boutique, .gifts
  • Education Businesses-  .academy, .coach, .collage, .degree, .education, .institute, .MBA, .report, .school, .science, .support, .training
  • Agriculture Business- .farm, .ag, .garden
  • Social Businesses- .social, .media, .biz
  • Pet Industry Businesses- .pet, .dog, .supplies, .services, .care, .vet, .fish
  • Hotel And Restaurant-  .restaurant, .bar, .cafe, .menu, .rest, .menu, .vacation, .villas, .catering, .cooking, .beer, .xyz
  • Photography Industry Business- .photography, .photos, .photo, .gallery, .pictures, .video, .fashion, .studio, .design
  • Science And Medicine Industry Business- .science, .hospital, .health, ..healthcare, .clinic
  • Fitness Industry – .fitness, .care, .fit, .sport, .yoga.
  • Financial industry businesses- .money, .market, .capital
  • Digital marketing agencies- .market, .online
  • Health industry- .health, .healthcare, .associates, .bio, .care, .clinic, .delivery, .dental, .doctor, .equipment, .foundation, .fund, .love, .medical, .hospital, .life, .rehab, .surgery
  • Architecture industry- .archi, .architect
  • Blogs – .net
  • Real estate industry- .realestate, .design, .agency, .auction, .rentals, .expert, .solutions, .land, .property, .rent, .condos
  • Security business- .security, .protection
  • Retail shops- .trade, .shopping, .boutique

Exact Match Domain(EMD)?

When you have a domain name that is exactly similar to your brand name you get an exact match domain. As you read about domain extensions for your website, it is advisable to know some facts related to your domain name too. Getting an exact match domain with .com domain extension is somewhat harder as the less availability. So as soon as you select a brand name it is better to check the availability of the domain name. 

If it is registered you will need to change the domain name by adding, removing some letters or words. Important: do not add numbers or hyphens in order to change the domain name, and try best to limit the domain name for one word. Ex; Googlego.com. Twitter could not get the exact match domain for the first place as it was registered before them. Initially, their domain name was twittr.com But later with a huge amount of money they bought the exact match domain twitter.com. But why do they spend huge money to get the EMD even though they had twittr.com as their domain name?

With the exact match domain, users do not face any confusion in finding your website. So it is important to have an exact match domain for your website. Even if you had to go with some other domain name originally, with the profit you make you can buy it as Twitter did!!!

Qualities Of A Good Domain Name

As to your brand name matters for your physical business, your domain name is very important to get a peak user engagement to your online business space. So here are the facts you must take into consideration when selecting a domain name. 

  • Short domain name– sometimes the matching domain name for your brand name can be taken by someone already. Even if your brand name is short, in situations like this, you have to add a word, or some suitable characters to get an available domain name. So make sure your domain name does not get too long by adding characters. 
  • .com is the best TLD for business websites- even non profitable organizations use .com as it is the most popular TLD. so .com is a must for your business website. 
  • Unique domain name– By getting a unique domain name your customers can easily find your website on the internet. If your domain name is too common, if there are many domain names on the internet same as yours, it makes it difficult for your customers to find your website. 
  • Careful when using double letters in your domain name- Using double letters in your domain name is a risk. Customers easily forget that your domain name includes doubled letters and it also confuses them over which letter needs to be doubled in the domain name. This will lead to typos and you’ll even lose traffic. So avoid double letters in your domain name.
  • Avoid domain name generators- you cannot get a catchy and strong domain name with a domain name generator. 
  • Avoid using hyphens- this is a must to avoid in your domain name. Hyphens are difficult to remember and also give a scammy appearance to your domain name.
  • Exact Match Domain – your customers highly assume your domain name is just as same as your brand name. So when they search your business online, they just type in your brand name to reach your business. So make sure to get the exact match domain for your business.

The Most Popular Domain Extension In 2022!!!

Being updated about the domain extensions and the current trends of the domain extension field is very important if you are planning to upgrade your business to an online platform or start an online business. Because the domain name plays a very important role in your URL!!! So we think knowing the current most popular domain extensions will help you get the right decision for your business. 

  1. .com (Commercial) – 52%
  2. .ru (Russia) – 6.1%
  3. .org (organization) – 4.5%
  4. .net (Network) – 3.3%
  5. .ir (Iran) – 1.8%
  6. .in (India) – 1.7%
  7. .uk (United Kingdom) – 1.6%

Most of the country codes (ccTLDs), such as .ru, .ir, .in and .uk can only be used within that particular country. And as you can see, .com is the most popular domain extension in 2021 and you can use it worldwide without any geographical limitations.

Companies That Changed Their Domain Names.

It is not healthy for a business to change the domain name as it is the representative of your business on the internet. So it is better to get a perfect domain name. Here are some companies that had to change their original domain names due to some reason. 

  • Thefacebook.com- facebook.com
  • Askjeeves.com – ask.com
  • X.com – paypal.com
  • Google.stanford.edu. – google.com
  • Twttr.com – Twitter.com

What If Your Domain Name Is Taken?

Even though you came up with a great brand name, it is possible the domain name is not available. In situations like this, most of the entrepreneurs give up the brand name. But you can still get the domain name with the following ways.

  1. Change the domain name by adding prefix or suffix. Assume your domain name “think.com” is not available; you can change the domain name slightly by adding suffix or prefix to the domain such as, thinkly.com or enthink.com. Maybe now you can have the domain name. 
  2. You can use country code TLDs (ccTLDs). Mostly we try our best to get a .com domain name, but if it’s taken you can use ccTLD to get that domain name. In some countries, country code TLD is more popular than .com domain extension. 
  3. Even if you find that the domain name is taken, go to the website. Search whether the website is active or not. If they are not using the domain name, you can buy it from them. 
  4. Using a descriptive domain name instead of the original domain name. If your original domain name is think.com, you can change the domain name by describing the word like, thinkwise.com, or thinkmind.com. 

Important : But according to our branding experts to get the most out of your brand name you need to get an exact match domain for your website. And .com domain names have the many benefits compared to other domain names.

What Are The Domain Extensions You Should Avoid?

There are some domain extensions that have a bad reputation. you must avoid them or there is a high possibility of recognizing your website as scammed or unauthorized. They are, .gq, .cf, .tk, .date, .top, .link, .work and .men.

Price Range Of TLDs

.COM -> Usually a startup name with .com is always above $300 and it goes up even to $1800000.

.NET->Startup name with .net will nearly cost above $500.

.ORG ->Basically this domain extension is not reselling by brand name resellers so the usual price of .org domain extension brand name will be between $2 to $20 or more

.EDU->Basically this domain extension is not reselling by brand name resellers so the usual price of .edu domain extension brand name will be between $2 to $20 or more

.Com is also known for its higher prices. A domain name with a .com extension could cost from $300 to $1800000 or more. But compared to the benefits you can experience with owning the .com domain extension, the price is less effective.

Conclusion

Although the .com domain extension is considerably higher in price than many other domain extensions, you must have confirmed that it is worthy to go with the .com extension. Especially when you are starting a business and it is an ultimate trend to use .com for your domain name.because, 

  • Your customers assume the domain name should end up with .com.
  • Half of the websites on the internet use .com.
  • .com domain names are trustworthy and memorable compared to the other TLDs.
  • Can get a higher customer attack on your website.
  • .com is the dominant TLD on the internet.