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Frequently Asked Questions » Domain Names
What kind of domain name should I choose?
There are several type of domain names: global and national. Global domain names do not indicate any provenance or nationality. .com: this is by far the most popular domain extension. It was originally for companies, but is now used more generally. .net: this was originally used for Internet related sites. It is now used for any sites which only exist online. .org: used for non profit organisations. Now generally used for sites not selling anything, not selling at a profit, or providing a service for free. .edu: used for schools and universities in the USA. .mil: used for the US military. .gov: used for the US government. .int: used for international governmental organisations. More recent extensions: .info: used for informative websites .ws: multipurpose, stands for website. .biz: usually used for businesses, or for websites providing services for businesses .museum, .coop, .pro, .areo: specialised domain extensions .name: used for personal websites Coming soon: .firm: for firms .store: for businesses offering goods to purchase .web: web related activities .arts: cultural and entertainment activities .rec: recreation activities National domain names are regulated and dealt with by individual countries. Examples: .us, .fr, .ca. .uk. Note: some extensions, like .tv are actually national, but are used by television companies. Some companies register their domain names with mutliple extensions just to make sure someone doesn't try to impersonate them, and to "catch" visitor's mistakes. For example, if the visitor types http://www.yoursite.net/, he/she will be forwarded to http://www.yoursite.com/.

Frequently Asked Questions » Domain Names

What kind of domain name should I choose?

There are several type of domain names: global and national. Global domain names do not indicate any provenance or nationality.

.com: this is by far the most popular domain extension. It was originally for companies, but is now used more generally.

.net: this was originally used for Internet related sites. It is now used for any sites which only exist online.

.org: used for non profit organisations. Now generally used for sites not selling anything, not selling at a profit, or providing a service for free.

.edu: used for schools and universities in the USA.

.mil: used for the US military.

.gov: used for the US government.

.int: used for international governmental organisations.

More recent extensions:

.info: used for informative websites

.ws: multipurpose, stands for website.

.biz: usually used for businesses, or for websites providing services for businesses

.museum, .coop, .pro, .areo: specialised domain extensions

.name: used for personal websites

Coming soon:

.firm: for firms

.store: for businesses offering goods to purchase

.web: web related activities

.arts: cultural and entertainment activities

.rec: recreation activities

National domain names are regulated and dealt with by individual countries. Examples: .us, .fr, .ca. .uk. Note: some extensions, like .tv are actually national, but are used by television companies.

Some companies register their domain names with mutliple extensions just to make sure someone doesn't try to impersonate them, and to "catch" visitor's mistakes. For example, if the visitor types http://www.yoursite.net/, he/she will be forwarded to http://www.yoursite.com/.