Domain
New gTLDs
What is a domain?
While starting to pen down this write up, I wondered, what if I didn't have a name? Whom would this article be attributed to? How would the readers know whose thoughts these are?
Thankfully, I do have a name, and it is by this name that my article will be recognized.
Just like the unique identification of my article is my name, the unique identification of a website is a 'domain name'. The illustration below makes the point more clear.
"abacohosting.com" is a domain name, which comprises of "abacohosting" and ".com". .COM here is a gTLD. You can choose several gTLDs for your website, like .net, .org, .biz etc., thereby giving you several alternatives like abacohosting.net, abacohosting.org, abacohosting.biz, etc.
What are new gTLDs?
Till 7th Nov.2013, only 22 such gTLDs were available. This meant that people had limited choice on what type of gTLD they can choose, and also that it was very hard for people to buy a domain name of their choice.
I, for instance, could never expect to have Barkha.com available for my website, and neither Barkha.org or Barkha.net. This meant that I couldn't have "Barkha" as a domain name no matter which gTLD I chose.
Which is why Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the governing body of domain names, made 700 new gTLDs available for registration.
gTLDs give your website more personality
Most of you must have seen your Facebook timeline frequently getting flooded with the "What does your name mean" app every now and then. This shows the extent to which people are curious in knowing the real meaning of their names and whether it suits their personality or not.
Same goes with the new gTLDs. They give your website much more "personality".
Interested in photography? Which domain name would you prefer for your website? Yourname-photography.com or yourname.photography?
Blog very frequently about cooking? Which domain name would you prefer? Yourname-recipes.com or yourname.recipes?
gTLDs make your website instantly recognizable
The new gTLDs hence are self-explanatory too. Rather than getting financial-tips.com for your website (which there is already very rare chance that you'll get), your website will be instantly recognizable if you get finance.tips. Same goes for cookery.tips, health.tips, career.tips.
gTLDs give you more choice
You can simply choose which category your website belongs to, and have multiple options available at your disposal. For example, here are options available for TRAVEL related websites – .flights , .cruises, .holiday, .voyage, .vacations, .cab and more. More available categories are: generic, business, organizations, education, technology, media, food, fashion, real state, lifestyle, hobbies, personal, location and others.
gTLDs are going to change the way domain names are registered forever. Individuals and small businesses will now have multiple options to choose from, and will hence be grabbing the perfect name that differentiates them from others. There is going be a rush in the starting days to register the most sought after names. It is hence the right time for businesses to register the relevant domains before the options exhaust.
Register the Relevant Domains