Once you’ve already gone through the painful task of coming up with a great domain name, you then have to choose the right domain name extension. There are many reasons for making the right choice.
In some cases, the domain name might already be registered with the extension of your choice, such as the popular .com ending. Another scenario, is trying to relay information about your organization or business through the extension to have a better chance that people will visit. Lastly, you want to have the extension that users will automatically think of when they hear your domain name. So, which is the right domain name extension?
The One and Only .com
The extension .com is the by far the most widely used. It’s true, when users hear a domain name they will simply think to add the .com after it. Ideally, from businesses to publications to blogs, this should be the one and only extension to pick. In fact, many browsers allow users to just type in the domain name without even having to add extensions since they add the .com automatically. If, however, the .com extension is not a possibility, then it is up to you to either decide to change the domain name or figure out how to brand the name well enough that people will remember the extension as well.
Using Alternatives Like .org or .net
In the early days of the Internet, extensions like .org and .net had real meanings. With its evolution, those extensions aren’t as unique as they once were. For example, any site can acquire the .org extension even if they are not a non-profit organization. If you are a real non-profit it is still recommended that you use .org instead of .com since people still relate it with organizations.
Like the name, choose your domain extension wisely.