Top Level Domain Extensions–What do they stand for?

Dot Com (.com)

The ‘.com’ TLD is the king of the jungle of TLDs since 1994. Nearly everyone, from individuals & SMBs to big corporate houses, who steps on the Web wishes to grab a ‘.com’ TLD at the first instance since it stands for‘Commercial’. It reflects that the site is for commercial purpose. However, now this domain extension has become more or less a ‘defacto extension’ used by almost everyone.

Dot Net (.net)

The ‘.net’ TLD stands for ‘Network’. This is one of the original TLDs mostly used by Internet-specific providers /businesses, such as social networking websites, SEO, web hosting etc. It’s the one of the most coveted domain extensions after ‘.com’.

Dot Info (.info)

The ‘.info’ TLD stands for ‘Information’. This TLD is mostly used by information & resource-based websites, which are not involved in commercial activities. This domain extension can be used for lead generation, knowledge sharing and community building. You can use this TLD for providing information to reinforce your brand.

Dot Org (.org)

The ‘.org’ TLD stands for ‘Organization’. This domain extension is mostly used by non-commercial & non-profit organizations. This TLD can also be used for building your community & leveraging your branding endeavors to win over your potential customers.

Dot Biz (.biz)

The ‘.biz’ TLD stands for ‘Business’. This domain extension, originally created in 2001, is mostly preferred for creating business websites. This open TLD is exclusively for “bona fide business or commercial use”, and has an immense sales pitch.

Dot Name (.name)

The ‘.name’ TLD stands for ‘Name’. This domain extension, originally introduced in 2001, is mostly used by individuals, who use this domain extension to represent their real names, fictional names, display names, nicknames, pseudonyms etc. These days, this domain extension is being popularly used as a web address for Digital Identity applications.

Dot Mobi (.mobi)

The .mobi’ TLD stands for ‘Mobile’. This domain extension, created in 2005 but available for public registration since 26 September 2006, must be used for all mobile-compatible sites as per the standards. This TLD is financially supported by biggies such as Google, Microsoft, Nokia, Samsung, Ericsson, Vodafone etc.

Dot Tv (.tv)

The ‘.tv’ is a country code top level domain (ccTLD), introduced in 1996 for the islands of Tuvalu. Its intended use is for all entities related to Tuvalu, whereas it’s promoted commercially for television/video sites. However, it can be registered for any purpose by anyone.

Dot Me (.me)

The ‘.me’ TLD is yet again a country code top level domain (ccTLD) introduced in 2007 for Montenegro. This domain extension is being promoted adequately for its global use, and become more like a personal name space. It can be registered for any purpose on the Web. However, it’s being marketed on the Web by the registrars as ‘.ME domains all about you’.

Dot Cc (.cc)

The ‘.cc’ TLD is also a country code top level domain for Cocos Islands, Australia. It was introduced in 1997, and administered by VeriSign as the ‘the next .com’. This domain extension is put to different assortment of sites, some of them especially referring to Cocos Islands.

It is expected that a dramatic change in the creation of new TLDs would be observed in 2010. We hope that many more new TLDs would flow in the New Year on the Internet, and we shall be able to have more of such TLDs.

Generic top level domains (gTLD) with Operating Registry

.com Commercial

.net Networks

.org Organizations

.info Open TLD

.biz Business Organizations

.mobi Mobile devices

.gov US Government

.edu Education

.aero Aviation

.cat Catalan language and culture

.coop Co-Operative Organizations