Domain Extensions and Their Relevance to Your Business

The ‘dot coms’ were the first domain extensions to gain popularity and familiarity among the masses. But now we do see a lot of different endings to domain names. Sometimes if a business is operating in different countries and has a different website for each location, its main domain is the same for each website but the domain extensions are different. For example, the Paypal website has these different domain extensions:

• .com.au
• .com.uk
• .com.br
• .com.cy
• .com.ph

These are called domain extensions. Let’s first define what a domain extension is, and then we will discuss the domain extension meanings.

What is a Domain Extension?

In technical terms, a domain extension is defined as the notation that we see as the last part of a web address or website domain, which specifies a country code or an internet category. Some examples of domain extensions that are an internet category are:

• .com (which stands for ‘commercial’),
• .org (which stands for ‘organization’),
• .net (which stands for ‘network’).

In simple terms, domain extensions are the ending part of a domain name. For example, in ‘www.upwork.com’, the domain extension is ‘.com’. In ‘www.youtube.com’, the domain extension is ‘.com’. In ‘www.youtube.com.uk’, the domain extension is ‘.com.uk’. These domain extensions are sometimes referred to as ‘top-level domains’ (TLDs).

The image below is a screenshot from the website ‘https://salaamswipe.mystrikingly.com/’. This website was built in Strikingly and its domain extension is ‘.mystrikingly.com’.

Image taken from Strikingly user’s website

Another example of a domain extension is for the website ‘https://sowbodyfitness.mystrikingly.com/’. This website was also built in Strikingly and its domain extension is ‘.mystrikingly.com’.

Image taken from Strikingly user’s website

If you want to build a website in Strikingly but use your custom domain for it, you’ll need to purchase the Strikingly Premium Plan. Under this plan, you can connect your custom domain to your Strikingly site.

The screenshot below is from a website built in Strikingly, but this user used the Strikingly Premium Plan which enabled them to use their own custom domain for it. The website is ‘https://www.annesigismund.com/’ and the domain extension is only ‘.com’.

Image taken from Strikingly user’s website

How Are Domain Extensions Relevant to Your Business?

When someone hears about your brand, their first impression or the first instance of your brand image comes from your domain name. That is why domain names and domain extensions have become so important in today’s online or digital world. Here are a few ways in which domain extensions are relevant to your business.

1. Building Brand Equity

To some extent, domain extensions determine the amount of brand equity you are able to build. If your domain name and domain extension sound cheap, customers will place a low perceived value on your products, and vice versa. Since customer perception is crucial in determining the volume of sales you get, you need to be really cautious in choosing domain extensions.

Generally speaking, domain extensions ‘.com’, ‘.org’, and ‘.net’ are known as the best TLDs (Top-Level Domains) on the web. But sometimes, businesses tend to overlook these and choose cheaper domain extensions in case these are either not available or costing them more. Since the best TLDs are more in demand, they are hard to get with your chosen domain names because their availability is low. They are better to use because they are recognized by everybody which increases their value.

For instance, if your domain name is ‘hexa’ and the domain extension you choose for it is ‘.com’, you can easily tell your website URL to anybody and they will understand it. But if the domain extension you choose is ‘.me’, then every time you tell your website URL to somebody, they will get confused the first time and ask you to tell it to them again.

The point is that choosing the most common domain extensions not only makes your domain name more valuable but also more memorable. Besides that, you also need to keep in mind the country-code domain extensions, as those also have a lot of value. Some of the commonly known country-specific domain extensions are as follows.

• .uk (which stands for the United Kingdom)
• .au (which stands for Australia)
• .eu (which stands for European Union)
• .ca (which stands for Canada)
• .io (which stands for British Indian Ocean Territory)
• .my (which stands for Malaysia)

2. Suitability for Your Business Type

The next factor in which domain extensions are relevant to your business is that they must match with the type of business you are running. A correct or suitable domain extension is one that goes with the kind of products or services you sell.

For example, if your business has nothing to do with education, training, teaching, or courses, it wouldn’t make sense for you to use the domain extension ‘.edu’. This domain extension stands for ‘education’ and is used for websites of schools, colleges, tuition centers, universities, training centers, and so forth.

Second, if your business only operates in one country, and there is no logical reason for you to specify that you operate from that specific country, you do not need to add the country-specific domain extension to your domain name. Country codes are only added to domain extensions if you need to specify that a particular URL is for browsing the brand website from that particular country.

3. Distinguishing Factor

Domain extensions are also used for distinguishing a business from its competitors. It is always good to conduct a competitor analysis before starting a business. When you do this research, you observe the different domain names and domain extensions your competitors are using. Then you can come up with one that sounds more exclusive than them.

10 Most Popular Domain Extension Meanings

Let’s talk about the 10 most popular domain extensions and see what each of them means.

1. .com

This is the most popular among all domain extensions. It was designed originally for commercial businesses and stands for the word ‘commercial’. But since it’s the most popular, it is now used by any individual or organization that may or may not be running a commercial business.

2. .biz

This domain extension was designed to be used by a business or an enterprise. If a website uses this, it means that website is built strictly for the purpose of running a business.

3. .org

This one is mainly for use by nonprofit organizations, but just like ‘.com’, it has now become quite multi-purpose. Since there are no special requirements to register a domain name with the ‘.org’ extension, many individuals and corporations that are not running a nonprofit business also use this domain extension.

4. .net

This domain extension was intended to be used by networks, or companies that are involved in networking technology. Today, it is used by companies all over the world. Anyone starting an online business can register their domain with this domain extension.

5. .gov

Unlike the other domain extensions, this one is restricted in its use. It is only permitted to be used by government organizations.

6. .mobi

This is used if an organization is building a mobile-only version of a website.

7. .us

This is a country-specific domain extension for the United States. You can only register your domain name with the country code that is for your country of residence because they are restricted. Only US companies can register with a ‘.us’ domain extension.

8. .co

This was originally designated as the country code for Columbia. Today it is used by global domains and has gained popularity in recent years.

9. .uk

This one is the country-specific extension for the United Kingdom. It is among the most popular domain extensions because websites with this domain extension commonly experience a rise in brand awareness, customer success, and an enhanced online presence.

10. .shop

This is used for e-commerce websites and is gaining popularity, but is mostly only used if the domain name that the business chooses is not available with the more popular domain extensions.

How to Register a Domain with Strikingly

If you are building a website in Strikingly, you can follow these steps to register a domain.

1. Select the domain that you want to use. From your Strikingly dashboard, click on ‘Register New Domain’.

Image taken from Strikingly

1. Key in your chosen domain name and click ‘Search Domain’.

Image taken from Strikingly

1. The system will suggest and display to you the domain names that match your search and are available. Select one of the suggested domains and domain extensions.
2. Select the year that you want to register your domain for and click ‘Register’.
3. On the next page, you will be asked to fill out some personal information. This information will be recorded as the owner of the new domain. After filling up and reviewing your information, click ‘Submit’.
4. Next, you will be asked to verify the domain ownership through email.
5. Finally, you can connect your newly purchased domain to your Strikingly website. Go to your site editor and click on ‘Settings’ and ‘Domains’. In the ‘Custom Domain/Subdomain’ box, key in your new domain and click ‘Update’.
6. Select your registrar and continue to set up from the registrar.

This is how simple we make it for you to register a domain with us. It is also simple to build a complete website with us. If you are interested and you haven’t already, sign up for a free Strikingly account today!