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Choosing the domain name for your website should be done with care. It should be easy to remember and SEO-friendly. The top level domain (TLD for short) is the final part of a web address such as .com, .org or .net etc. Taking care to choose the right TLD for your website is important and while, in many cases, a .com address is ideal, it is not always suitable. The following provides some tips on choosing the best TLD for your website.
When to Use a .com TLD
The .com TLD is by far the most popular in use today. This is for good reason too. By default, most browsers allow you to automatically complete a web address by pressing control and enter when you type the name of the website. Doing this will automatically add the www. and the .com parts of the address and then open up the website. This can be customized though few people ever bother to do it.
Many people are more likely to remember a .com address as well. For this reason, a .com address is ideal for any site targeted towards an international audience. If in doubt, a .com address is still the best option.
When to Use a Country Code TLD
Country code TLDs also have their place, though they are often not as useful as a .com address. If your website is targeted towards a more local audience, a country code TLD immediately tells visitors that they are looking at a local website. If you run an online shop selling products in the UK to UK citizens, a .co.uk address would be much more suitable. For advertising purposes, it lets visitors know that the site is specifically relevant to them. This may be exactly what you want to achieve.
Other TLDs
Other popular TLDs include .info, .net and .org. These are best suited to informational resources, internet services and non-profit organizations respectively. It’s generally best to register one of these in addition to a .com, rather than on its own. An exception is .org, which is well established and trusted for non-profits. Hundreds of newer TLDs, such as .shop, .online and .app, are also available, and they can make it easier to find a short, memorable name.
There are other TLDs which are suitable for specific types of content. This includes some Country Code TLDs which are open for registration to almost anyone. Some examples of these include .me for Montenegro, .fm for Micronesia, .tv for Tuvalu and .cd for Congo. While it might seem catchier for an online radio website to use the .fm extension, it is still usually a good idea to have a .com version as well.
Some TLDs are restricted and can only be used by specific types of organizations, such as .aero for the aviation industry, .edu for colleges and universities, and .gov for US government organizations.
Internationalized Country Code TLDs
An internationalized country code TLD is a TLD for a specific country that uses a script other than the standard Latin alphabet. They have been available since 2010 and are now offered in many scripts, including Cyrillic, Arabic and Chinese. However, they are still far less common than standard domains, and not every app or email system handles them well, so for most sites they work best alongside a standard domain rather than on their own.