Many customers and potential leads will ask us from time to time, “Which domain name should I reserve for my website?” And “What is the difference between a .Com, .Net, .Biz and so on?”
They are great questions every time we’re asked them because these little details are pretty important when choosing the best domain name for your new website.
Below is a brief summary of the most popular domain name extensions, their popularity and overall relevance per/industry.
.COM Domains
the .Com domains are by far the most relevant, common and have been around the longest. Therefore, the .com domains are more popular and will traditionally be remembered by people more than any other type of domain name.
If you’re a business, in business for profit of (and not a non-profit), then the .Com domain name is going to be the best type of domain name to register.
.NET Domains
Next in line you have the .Net domains. The .net domains although not as popular as the .Com name, is next in line. Many people will resort for a .net domain if the .com domain they were after was taken. Sometimes when a client is really attempting to soak up the domains for their business name, they’ll choose the .com and .net domains even if they only use one or the other as a primary name.
.ORG Domains
The .org domains are traditionally used for non-profit organizations, charity websites, and other humanitarian-driven entities. The .org stands for “Organization” so you can see where this one came from. So if you’re a non-profit, or sometimes even school, the .org is your most common choice.
.EDU Domains
Speaking of schools, the .edu domain is arguably the most popular and common domain name to use. However, the .edu is much trickier to register. You have to get approved to carry one of these names by going to net.educause.edu and registering. This helps fake guard against anyone trying to use an .edu and claim that they are an educational institution, when really they are not.
.Biz Domains
The .biz name can likely be called the “least popular” of domain names. Sometimes businesses will use these for their corporate sites, but more than anything, they are very outdated and irrelevant in most people’s minds.
If you’re looking to start a new website, choosing a domain name that has the proper extension is very important, especially before your website is ready to go live.
Until Next Time,
Josh Olswanger
Thrive Web Designs – Your Boise Web Design Team
