HACKER Q&A
📣 redbell

In 2022, Is the “dot com” TLD still worth it?


If you ever tried to register a beautiful/meaningful/short ".com" domain, you are most likely to find it is already taken. If you get a green "Domain Available", it's probably you made a typo or your cat was walking on your keyboard while you were busy typing..

So, from a "business/brand-awareness" perspective, does still the dot com TLD make a big difference compared to other less-attractive TLDs? I think this should have a different answer for website-based businesses and mobile-app-based (where most apps may ONLY need a domain name for consuming APIs?), PWA is another case in the middle?

Let's take for example some famous/successful services which are not .COMed, eg; "zoom.us", "notion.so", "telegram.org"..etc, Do you think people still notice or care about these services not being ".com" (although the first two already own their .com TLD).

What are good alternatives: ".io",".ai" for techy startups, ".app" for mobile apps & PWA? What about so-called "domain hacks" where you can read the full name of your brand when adding the appropriate TLD, eg: "youtu.be", "instagr.am", "every.one", "del.icio.us".

  👤 LinuxBender Accepted Answer ✓
From a business perspective I always made it a habit to get every popular TLD at very least .com .net .org and now probably .io for a given name within a reasonable budget and then park the ones not being used to avoid squatters and other security and legal incidents. This is also a good time to set up SPF and MX records for all the domains especially the ones you do not plan to send email from. If getting newer TLD's be sure to investigate which ones are commonly used for fraud and spam and strategically apply mitigations accordingly. i.e. park the .xyz, .info, .me, etc... if you feel you really need those. Enable auto-renew on all domains and make sure your expiration emails go to a distribution list and not an individual.

It can be challenging to find a .com that matches the name of the business especially if doing this after you already incorporated. I believe it is worth the effort to keep looking until you find a .com that aligns with the business name. In my opinion and experience this is especially critical if you ever plan to advertise on the radio or podcasts.

For domain squatting, typos, variations, let your legal and security teams go after them. Your business should also consider using a registrar that looks for these things and can provide a detailed report written in a way that lawyers can easily understand.

👤 robtaylor
.com or the strongest local geo eg. .com.au or .co.uk

If you have the budget, buy the best you can. Lots for sale from 'domainers' and a few grand can buy really nice domains.

Don't skimp on your long term online identity !

👤 easrng
Please don't use .io. Read https://unbuild.blog/2021/10/io/
👤 crate_barre
Not if you want to sell to tech people. If you can get a decent .com, get it, otherwise the .io/app/dev are fine.
👤 ei8ths
ask your mom, you'll find out its still important.