Explain Domain Name Extensions

Have you ever had anybody actually explain domain name extensions to you? We all see the many varieties each and every day. From .com to .edu and everything else in between, there are lots of endings that your website can potentially have. But what do all of these extensions actually mean, and which ones will be appropriate or available for your website.

The most common domain name extension is .com, and it literally stands for commercial. It is the most popular of the website domain extensions and it can be used in almost any circumstance. The only thing to worry about with a .com name is that it may be hard to find the exact domain name you are looking for, since so many people purchase .coms.

To properly explain domain name extensions, the next one on our list has to be .net. A .net name literally stands for network, and used to be used primarily by companies such as web hosting companies. However, the .net name has expanded a great deal in its applicable uses, and now many businesses choose a .net name, particularly when their preferred .com is not available or is too expensive.

More people today are also turning to two further alternatives, .info and .biz. The .info extensions signals an information site. It typically houses an informative guide or collection of articles or resources on a particular subject or niche. The .biz extension signals a small business website. Both of these extensions will have domain name options which are more prevalent and which are cheaper than their .com counterparts, making them more popular as time goes on.

If you want to explain domain name extensions you also need to cover some choices that aren't available for all websites. The first of which is the .gov extension, which signals an official government website. These cannot be purchased by businesses or individuals. Following this is the .edu website, which signals an educational website, such as a university, other school or educational foundation. Again, this type of website extension cannot be purchased or used by just anybody.

Another extension that falls into this category is the .org extension. The .org extension stands for organization, and is reserved for nonprofit organizations, missions, associations, groups and foundations. While the above domain extensions aren't available for purchase for anybody or any reason, it's important to familiarize yourself with what's out there.

This is just the beginning and there are literally dozens for more. For example, the .tv domain name extension is used both for the online home of television shows, products and channels as well as media rich websites which for example house lots of videos and clips. Meanwhile, different countries have their own extensions such as .uk for the United Kingdom and .cn for China.

Hopefully this guide helped to explain domain name extensions to you. This by no means covers every variety out there, but should serve as a starting point to help you figure out your available options as well as make better sense of the websites you browse.