Why You Should Think About Your Domain Extension Before You Think About The Name?

Think of your domain extension like a surname—it wraps up your web address and gives it a distinct identity. It adds the finishing touches to your website address and gives it a platform on the internet. Before making a decision, it’s wise to run your ideas through a domain name checker to see what’s available and what suits your brand best.

Overlooking your domain extension and domain name cost would be a costly business misstep and can greatly harm your business identity. You don’t want your customers to forget how to reach your website, or mistype your email address with the wrong domain extension.

Think about it:

Tesla purchased the domain name tesla.com for over USD 11 million, replacing its original domain teslamotors.com, just to spare its users time when they access the website. In this way, Tesla smartly valued an easy domain name with a .com suffix.

The variation in cost between domain extensions can be enormous. To illustrate, a quick search for “Urban Gadgets” indicates that “urbangadgets.com” is considered a premium domain, whereas other domain extensions of the same domain name can be found for under $20 per annum.

The choice of your domain names and extensions can greatly influence your business, for better or worse. Some of the most embarrassing domain name mistakes are —a firm named “Now Here Travel” that registered the domain name “nowheretravel.com,” which can be misread as “nowhere travel”. Or a gardening website called “Green Art” registering greenart.com, which some visitors initially read as “Green Cart”. These instances speak for themselves.

Selecting the optimal domain name and extension demands both branding sense and technical insight. In this blog post, we’ll help you with smart, actionable tips to make the optimal choice for your brand. Let’s dive in!

What’s a Domain Extension?

A domain extension is an array of letters that comes after the brand name, preceded by the last dot. To illustrate, in instagram.com, “instagram” is the domain name, while “.com” is the extension. The two should not be considered separately.

You can purchase domain names and extensions from reputable domain registrars and web hosting providers, such as MilesWeb. Simply visit their website, search to find out if the domain name and extension you desire are available, and then purchase it if you wish to! Entering a name will instantly generate a list of domains and extensions available.

Types of Domain Extensions Available

With the broad range of domain extensions available and new ones being added every day, here’s a fundamental list of the widely used domain extensions.

• .com: indicates “commercial.”

Ideal for ecommerce and commercial websites.

• .net: extension usually relates to “network” or “the internet”.

Try this domain if you’re willing to highlight the global reach of a network, or if your preferred brand name isn’t found with a “.com” extension, or if you’re a web-based organisation.

• .org: signifies an organisation.

Ideal for large-scale organisations or non-commercial organisations.

• .edu: indicates “education”.

The best pick for teaching institutes, colleges and universities.

• .biz: stands for “business”.

This extension is commonly used by companies to give their websites a professional edge.

• .me: says it all, which is “me.”

It’s most effectively chosen for a personal website or blog to discuss more about you and your passion.

Savvy marketers and business owners make sure the domain name and domain extension go well together. To illustrate, a domain such as “tech.shop” obviously points to a website for a technology store, but a domain “tech.com” could refer to anything in the tech industry.

The Key to Selecting the Correct Domain Name and Extension

1. Branding

A domain extension works as a marketing strategy that controls how your website visitors are going to recognise you. Utilise domain extensions as a marketing tool to control clients’ point of view in a good way that is compatible with your brand’s motive and objective.

2. Domain Name Availability

You can only pick a domain name and extension that’s available and unregistered. However, if your chosen domain extension is unavailable, don’t panic. Pick the next one nearest to your ideal domain name, or better yet, utilise a domain name generator to generate different combinations of domain names and extensions that may resonate with your business.

3. User-Friendliness

Is your domain name and extension simple to recall? Or is it a lengthy, complex domain extension that a few would be able to recall? Pick domain extensions that are easy to use in all respects.

4. Purchase the Same Domain Name With Multiple Extensions

For instance, Facebook purchased fb.com for those who wanted to view Facebook on their mobile phones. This is because users will look for “fb.com”, thinking it could direct them to facebook.com. Users will always try various combinations of domain names to look for you, and it works as an added benefit to purchase all available domain names and extensions your clients might use to look for you.

5. Price Comparisons Among Various Domain Registrars

Domain name pricing isn’t one-size-fits-all—it shifts based on the extension you pick and the registrar you go with. Check prices of your chosen domain extension with various providers so you can make the best choice that suits you.

Conclusion

Concisely, domain extensions play a pivotal role in establishing your brand and showcasing your business in this tech-driven world, whether blogging or marketing products online. Pick a domain name and extension that’s simple to recall, reflects your brand, supports SEO, and is trendy and versatile.

The strategies outlined above, combined with your creativity, can help you choose the most suitable domain extension, as it’s not a choice to take lightly. However, with trusted support and domain hosting services from MilesWeb, making the right choice becomes even more seamless.