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Choosing a domain name is very important when building your online presence. Besides serving as an address for users to visit your site, it’s also an essential branding element, shaping how your target audience sees your business.

That’s why we’ve identified the most significant trends and developments in the domain name industry. We’ll cover which top-level domains (TLDs) are most popular and which ones are emerging.

Most importantly, we’ll answer whether it is essential to have a .com URL for your website.

Table of Contents

Research has shown that .com remains the strongest contender among all TLDs.

As of June 2022, 52.8% of the internet use .com domains – far more than other generic top-level domains (gTLDs). For comparison, .orgwhich is the second most popular gTLD, only makes up around 4.4% of all registered domain names.

To better illustrate the massive market, Verisign reports that over 161.3 million .com domain names have been registered as of the first quarter of 2022. That’s more than eight times the number of domains using .cnChina’s country-code top-level domain (ccTLD).

.com itself stands for commercial, as it is intended to represent business entities.

That said, according to Dataprovider.com, 33% of websites that use .com domains are content publications. The second largest share belongs to business sites at 24%, while eCommerce stores account for 4%.

According to InternetX’s 2022 Global Domain Report, legacy gTLDs like .com, .net, .org, .bizand .info make up more than half of all registered domains on the world wide web.

While these older domain extensions dominate the industry, new gTLDs are expanding the TLD market.

Our data reveals that .online and .xyz are two of the most registered top-level domains at Hostinger after .com. This trend has been consistent since August 2021.

At the beginning of 2022, all new gTLDs made up around 7.5% of all websites. Today, .xyz is leading the pack with over 4.8 million registered domains.

Although the combined market share of all new gTLDs is small in comparison .comnewer gTLDs have a much more significant year-on-year growth.

For instance, .xyz registrations rose 23.5% last year, whereas .shop saw a 31.4%. growth Contrast this to .comwhich only grew by 4.5%.

All of this reveals a vital trend – while .com is still the market leader, the number of available and attractive domain names with this ending is running out. This has led website owners to look for alternative gTLDs.

The Growth of ccTLDs and geoTLDs

A country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) represents a country code, like how .us signifies the United States. It’s a popular alternative if you’re building an online presence in a specific region or your desired .com domain name is unavailable.

As of June 2022, the most popular ccTLD was .tk for Tokelau, with over 26 million registered domains. Interestingly, the island only has a population of less than fifteen hundred.

The rest of the domain extensions that top the list are from Europe, like .de, .uk, .ruand .nl. This trend signifies the prevalence of ccTLDs in the continent compared to the rest of the world – so much so that they account for 61% of domain registrations in the region.

Although ccTLDs are intended to denote a specific country, many of them have grown beyond their original function. For instance, .iothe domain extension for British Indian Ocean Territory, has become popular among tech companies.

.co, which stands for Colombia, is a widely-used .com alternative. In fact, the sales volume for .co domains has doubled during the pandemic, starting from $800,000 in 2020 to almost $1.5 million in 2021.

In recent years, we’ve also seen a rise in geoTLDs – a category of domain extensions linked with geographical or cultural communities.

Some examples are cityTLDs, like .tokyo, .nyc, .berlinand .london. They’re ideal for small businesses and establishments that want to build their brand and attract customers in the area. Reportedly, Japan has the largest share of business and eCommerce sites that use cityTLDs.

How Crucial Is a .com Domain?

In our buying a domain name tutorial, we explain that the right name could boost brand awareness, establish visitor trust, and make it easier to find you online.

Choosing a TLD that is short, easy to remember, and relevant to your niche will help you achieve these goals.

From a memorability standpoint, .com has become top-of-mind. Growth Badger’s survey results show that users can recall .com domains 44% more correctly than those with other TLDs. .co is second most memorable at 33%with .org trailing at 32%.

When it comes to credibility,com wins with a rating of 3.5 on a scale of 1 to 5. .co andorg are again second and third, rated 3.4 and 3.3, respectively.

It’s clear that .com still immensely helps to establish a credible online presence. It’s concise, familiar, and highly versatile – virtually any website can use it.

That said, a .com domain is pricier – it starts at around $8.99/year. This is much more expensive than newer gTLDs, costing as little as $0.99/year. .com prices are going to increase by almost 7%, too, due to recent agreements between the US government and Verisign.

Paired with the fact that the .com market has become highly competitive, aspiring website owners will have to consider buying domain name alternatives.

Use domain name generators. They can come up with multiple name options that sound close to the one you want the most.

Secondly, consider buying other TLDs. If you want the same level of familiarity as .com and don’t mind paying more, .net is a good choice. Otherwise, try new gTLDs like .xyz, .online, and .site, which are cheaper but just as versatile.

More TLD Trends to Watch Out For

Here are some other trends that may rock the domain industry in the near future:

• Based on Sedo’s top searched keywords in 2022, terms related to NFT, cryptocurrency, and the Metaverse are highly popular. Since these industries may keep getting bigger, we can expect to see this trend continue.
• Google Registry released the .day TLD in early 2022 to celebrate national holidays and raise awareness of important issues. Many large organizations have registered a .day domain for their causes, like Comic Relief for rednose.day.
• Since March 2022, Australia’s ccTLD .au has been available to register as a direct domain name – such as example.au. Previously, users could only purchase it as a second-level domain. Only people with verified connections with the country could own this TLD.

Key Takeaways

When choosing a domain ending, think about your website’s long-term goals.

Getting a .com domain may be worth it if you plan to grow your business in the future.

For the new gTLDs, competing with .com will be tough. On the other hand, they are a great way to establish a unique identity. Furthermore, with .com domains running low, it’s safe to say people will gradually become more familiar with these domain endings.

ICANN published a report on gTLD application procedures, stirring rumors that they will open submissions for new domain extensions soon.

In any case, we can expect to see even more domain endings for various niches down the line. While they may not have a significant domain market share, they have the potential to become major players in the internet landscape of the future.

When it comes to building a business, it all starts with one great idea. To bring that idea to life, you need eye-catching graphics, a user-friendly website, and other creative assets.

With Namecheap’s Visual, you’ll be able to take your business ideas and transform them into a fully fleshed-out brand. Featuring a variety of tools to help you get your business up and running, Visual is your one-stop shop for end-to-end brand creation.

Take a look at Visual in action to see how quickly and easily you can design a variety of useful assets for your brand.

Before you get started, take a moment to create a free Namecheap account so you can save any files that you create during the process.

Step 1: Business Name Generator

First things first — your new venture needs a name. You may already have one in mind, but if not, simply turn to Business Name Generator to come up with some inspired ideas.

This Visual tool is completely free and easy to use. Just type in a few keywords related to your brand, and Business Name Generator will produce unique, brandable name options.

Let’s say you’re starting a custom cupcake business. After inputting some keywords associated with your brand and looking through dozens of suggestions from the Business Name Generator, you settle on a name: The Cupcakery.

As luck would have it, you can even snatch up a matching website domain to go with your new business name. Just hit “Add to Cart,” and it’s all yours.

Step 2: Logo Maker

Now that you have a business name ready to go, it’s time to create a logo. This will become the symbol for your brand, so it needs to communicate a lot in one simple design.

Visual features Logo Maker, a 100% free tool that allows for unique logo creation in just a few minutes. Just enter your business name, choose from various font and color suggestions, and pick out a few icon options.

Logo Maker will offer a wide variety of logo styles, each of which can be tweaked to fit your design preferences. For our cupcake business, Logo Maker created this fun and eye-catching option.

Once you finalize your logo design, save it to your account so you can use it with other visual tools later on. Each logo download includes SVG and PNG formats that you can use for various applications.

Step 3: Site Maker

A website is absolutely essential for any small business today. It’s where many of your potential customers will go to learn more about your business before visiting in person or placing an online order.

Visual’s Site Maker makes site creation simple — even if you have zero experience with building a website. All you have to do is pick out the features and design styles you want, then add content to each page. Namecheap takes care of the technical side, including fast hosting and website security.

Start by choosing a template and picking out a color scheme and font. Download your logo from Logo Maker, then import it along with other images and videos to populate your site. You can use a domain you already purchased for your business or search for a new one before hitting “Publish.”

Step 4: Business Card Maker

Now that your website is set up, it’s time to start spreading the word about your business. If you’re networking in person, you’ll definitely want a stack of business cards ready to go so you can hand them out to potential customers.

Business Card Maker is a Visual tool that makes it easy to create professional-looking business cards in minutes. You can choose from a variety of designs, get suggestions for which information to include, and have your cards printed with free shipping right to your door.

One of the best things about Business Card Maker is that you can easily import any logo you already made with Logo Maker. Then, it’s simply a matter of plugging in a few key details, like your name, address, website, and phone number.

Step 5: Stencil

Now that you have all the essentials ready to go, it’s time to start a marketing push for your brand. Whether you’re designing for print or online promotion, it’s important to make sure the visuals are eye-catching and engaging.

Stencil is a visual tool that helps you bring your ideas to life. You don’t need any previous graphic design experience. With helpful templates and access to millions of royalty-free images and icons, you can easily create social media graphics, online ads, and much more.

Stencil’s preset canvas sizes make it easy to design graphics with the right dimensions for specific social media networks, like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Plus, Stencil is integrated with Buffer so you can schedule your posts immediately after creation.

Any business owner can build a brand from scratch with the help of Namecheap’s Visual. With so many tools at your disposal, many of which are completely free to use, it’s easy to create all the visual assets you need to get your business off the ground.

Websites have come a long way since the early days of HTML and CSS. Back then, web developers were limited to using basic text and images on their pages. They also had to rely on third-party plugins like Flash or Java to add interactivity.

Today, however, HTML5 offers several features that make website development much more dynamic and versatile. This latest version of the HTML standard includes new features allowing developers to create richer, well-supported, and more interactive websites without needing plugins. HTML5 has allowed businesses to ensure that their websites are compatible with most mobile devices and operating systems. This is crucial for businesses, as most people now use their smartphones and tablets to access the Internet.

Whether you’re a small startup looking to build a simple website, or a larger company wanting to develop a complex web-based application, HTML5 is the way to go.

How did HTML5 change the game?

Before HTML5, there was HTML4. One of the biggest problems with HTML4 was that it couldn’t do much. As mentioned before, you need different plugins to do anything more than just show text or images.

HTML5 was developed based on principles that would make browsing a better experience for users. This includes:

• Fewer plugins
• Allowing the use of replacing scripting with markups (unlike scripting languages, markups do not require an algorithm and simply define the structure of data)
• Ensuring that the user experience is similar on different types of devices
• Making the web development process public for greater transparency

Why HTML5 is the future

Here are five big reasons why HTML5 represents the future:

1. Improved semantics

HTML5 introduced many new elements that improve the semantics of web pages. These include new tags for representing different types of content, such as