A domain name is an easy-to-remember online address that guides your audience to your website. You can’t compare how easily the domain in Australia interacts with the audience in comparison with IP addresses. The right domain builds trust by bringing familiarity while typing, largely affecting how your audience looks at your website.
This shows how important it is to buy a domain name and web hosting that complements your business’s online presence. So, let’s review the top 5 domain name types and examples to help you choose your perfect fit.
What is a Domain Name?
A domain name is your business online identity that helps your audience find your website. Every website is connected to a web server using an IP address, which is its unique identity. While an IP address works great with computers, it is slightly difficult for humans. Typing a complex IP address everytime you want to search the web is very difficult.
That is why domain names came into existence. They link themselves to IP addresses and help audiences recall them by using easy-to-remember domain names.
Thus, when a user types a domain name like “Amazon.com” in their browser, an automatic DNS request is generated. A DNS is like a directory of a domain name, which is created by a corresponding IP address.
Next, the DNS maps the domain name with the respective IP address, allowing the user to access a particular website.
Domain Name Types and Examples
1. Generic Top-level Domain and New gTLDs
Generic top-level domain names and new gTLD are the two types of top-level domain name extension targeting differently. Generic domain names are generic, while new gTLDs are new domain extensions that mostly target niches through innovation.
|
Domain Name Types |
Domain Name Examples |
|
Generic Top Level Domain Name |
.com,.gov,.edu,.mil,.net |
| New gTLDs |
.shop,.io, xyz,.top |
2. Country Code Top Level Domain Name and Internationalised Domain Names
A country code domain name is a domain name formed using two letters representing a specific country territory or geographical location.
In international domain names, you can use characters from different scripts, such as Chinese, Arabic or Cyrillic. Earlier, this list was limited to only Latin letters like a-z.
| Domain Name Types |
Domain Name Examples |
|
Country Code Top Level Domain Name |
United States(.us), France(.fr),Australia(.au) |
|
Internationalised Domain Names |
Characters from different scripts |
3. Sponsored Top Level Domain Name
Sponsored top-level domain names are domain names specifically targeted by particular groups or communities, such as religions, industries or professions.
|
Domain Name Types |
Domain Name Examples |
|
Sponsored Top Level Domain Name |
Air transport industry(.aero), developers(.app), Catalan community(.cat) |
4. Infrastructure Top Level Domain Name
An infrastructure Top Level Domain Name is a domain name made for use by the Internet Engineering task force. Example of domain name: ARPA (used for internet protocol infrastructure)
5. Test Top Level Domain Name
Test-level domain names are used for documentation or testing purposes. Example domain name:.test,.example,.invalid,.localhost etc
Conclusion
There are different types of domain names, each with a different role beyond what the eye can actually see. Therefore, choosing a domain name that relates to your business and audience is extremely important.
A wrong domain name can negatively affect the brand, further affecting your brand credibility and making it difficult for your audience to find you online. Therefore, understand what role each domain type plays and choose a domain name that fits your business the best.