Choosing the right domain name for your business is essential to build a successful online presence. Besides, picking the right name, you also need to choose suitable domain extensions from the different types.
These types of extensions are called top-level domains (TLD). The most common types of domain extensions are: .com, .in, .biz, etc.
In this article, we will cover information about top-level domains, their type, and an overview of the most popular top-level domain names.
What’s a Top-Level Domain?
TLD is the acronym used for top-level domains. It’s basically the last segment of a domain name after the final dot. A great example of a TLD is a: .com. In simple terms, the letters at the end of a website address are known as a top-level domain (TLD).
These are known as domain suffixes. Top-level domains are divided into two types of categories, country-specific domains and generic domains.
Top-level domains identify specific website elements, such as country of origin, type of business, and more. A TLD is assigned and managed by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers or ICANN.
However, there’s a list of all the valid TLDs is maintained by the IANA and is regularly updated. And most importantly, the TLD plays a very crucial role in the Domain Name System (DNS).
The IANA identifies three types of Top Level Domains
- gTLD -Generic Top-Level Domains
- sTLD -Sponsored Top-Level Domains
- ccTLD – Country Code Top-Level Domains
Here is more brief information about the above top-level domain types. .
Different Types of Top-Level Domain Name Extensions
There is a wide range of domain extensions you’ll want to choose from depending on your business. It’s very important to choose a domain extension that goes well with your business.
Generic Domains (gTLD):
These are the domain names, anyone can register. Like, as .org for organizations and .biz for commercial businesses.
The most common uses of generic top-level domains are:
- .com: for commercial websites
- .net: for networks
- .biz: for businesses
- .org: for organizations
Related: The Impact Of A Domain Extension On Your SEO Results
Country Code top-level domain (ccTLD):
It indicates a geographical area, for example, the United States, U.S. or United Kingdom, .uk.
A few examples of Country Code Top-Level domains are:
- .us: United States
- .ca : Canada
- .uk: United Kingdom
- .nl: Netherlands
Sponsored top-level domains (sTLD)
As the name suggests itself, sponsored top-level domains are those which are suggested and supervised by government organizations. These entities can be government agencies, businesses, or other types of organizations.
Some of the sponsored top-level domains are:
- edu: for educational institutions
- .gov: for government agencies
- .travel: for travel industry businesses
Is it Possible to Change the Website TLD?
It is possible to change a TLD by setting up a URL redirect. This entire process will redirect all the traffic from the old TLD to the new one and ask the search engines if that change is constant.
Here’s a tip: Be very careful while migrating your site to a new web address. But make sure that you have a backup of your site to avoid traffic loss.
The Most Popular Top-Level Domains
.com is one of the most common TLDs, which has 52% of the total global share, and the other commonly used TLD is, .org, which has a global share of 5%. .com is one of the most trusted TLDs, making it easy to recognize a better URL.
Conclusion
Now, you’ve cleared the concept of the Top-Level domain, you want to register your own. You can register a top-level domain extension with MilesWeb.
Also, we offer the domain name for free with web hosting plans. Choose the type of TLD that suits your site the best, offers credibility to your business and helps to boost your SEO rankings.
