You might have noticed that couple years ago it was decided that the domain registry companies would be able to start offering their customers new domain extensions, also called new GTLDs. Domain extension is the part of the domain that comes after the dot (.). The big argument for these new extension was that it had become really difficult and often also expensive to find good keyword domains that were available in the older domain extensions such as .com and .net. The new domain extensions include things such as .tech, .xyz, .horse (!) and .love.
Despite of the fact that it is extremely easy to register these new extensions via, for example, Godaddy they haven’t become nearly as popular as one might have imagined and it is actually rare to see an e-commerce business using one of these new extensions. However, the fact the new domain extensions are not massive popular doesn’t necessarily mean that using them is a bad idea. From below you can find three reasons for going with a new domain extensions and three reasons to stick an older extension. The reasons have been picked with e-commerce companies in mind, but in many cases they could also fit other types of websites.
Positives of using a new domain extension
1: Much cheaper than buying a premium .com domain name. Let’s say that you are looking to sell home-made candles online. In that case you might like to launch your business on a domain name like Candles.com or Warm.com, however the odds are that the owners of those domains will want at the very least high five-figure amounts for the domain names. On the other hand, you can find new domain extension domain names such as candles.center for just around $15.
2: Standing out from the competition. If you are operating in a highly competitive market, a case can be made that using a new, more exotic, domain extension can help you stand out from the competition.
3: You might get free publicity. The owners of the new domain extension that you are using, as well as domain name investors who own domain names in that extension, might give your store free publicity to promote the legitimacy and success of the specific new extension.
Cons of using a new gTLD
1: Confusion regarding the web address. At this stage most the customers are simply not familiar with the new extensions and as such might not even realize what you mean when you say that the address of your store is “something.something”, and in the worst case might even end up on your competitor’s site instead!
2: Not getting all the emails intended for you. People are so used to sending emails to .com, .net, .org and country code (such as .us) domain names that even if people know the “something.something” web address of your store, they might accidentally send emails to wrong addresses.
3: Being seen as less reputable. With practically all the big brands in the world using one of the old extensions, you might be seen as less reputable if you use a new extension.
At the end of the day the choice regarding the extension comes mainly down to things such as your budget, personal preference and the type of your clientele.
