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New Domain Names Are Finally Coming!
By: Lee Hodgson
With the recent
announcement that new domains names will arrive early next year, now is the time to start thinking about how these names will impact small business owners on the Net, and whether you need to take any immediate action.
Before making any decisions, let's review a few facts:
There are currently three 'generic' top-level domains (gTLDs) in common, global usage. These are .COM, .NET, and .ORG. There are also over two
hundred country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs), such as .UK (United Kingdom) and .DE (Germany). Because the demand for gTLDs, .COMs in particular, has been so great, there is a general perception that 'all the best
names have gone'. For this reason, some of the country-code domains are now being marketed as 'alternative' global domains. For example, .TV (Tuvalu) is being touted as the name to own for television related web sites,
and .WS is now being promoted as 'Web Site' rather than its original use, serving the people of Western Samoa.
So just what are the new TLDs to be introduced early next year? Here the confusion begins. Whatever
you may have read, there have been no announcements from ICANN (http://www.icann.org), the body which controls TLDs, about which domains are to be introduced, or indeed how many. Applications are currently being
accepted from parties interested in sponsoring new TLDs, and the identity of the new domains should be know by year's end.
There are two main reasons why you might want to register a name in one (or more) of the
new TLDs:
1) To stop a competitor from getting it. If you already own 'YourName.com', and .BIZ or .SHOP are announced as new TLDs, then you might consider it important, even vital, to register 'YourName.Biz' and
'YourName.Shop'.
2) Because all the best .COMs are taken. Perhaps you have been using 'MyShoeShop.net' up till now, and have your eyes on 'Shoe.Shop' - certainly looks appealing, doesn't it?
Whatever your
reason for wanting a new name, the question on everyones' lips is: how do I maximize my chances of registering a new name before someone else? Exit stage left: Confusion. Enter stage right: Total Confusion.
As I
stated earlier, it has not been decided which new TLDs will be introduced, but that hasn't stopped a cottage industry growing up surrounding the 'pre-registration' of these names. I put the term 'pre-registration' in
quotes because in technical terms, 'pre-registration' of domain names, doesn't actually exist. It is really just a marketing term coined by parties eager to cash in on the boom. Many of the sites offering
'pre-registrations' are scams, pure and simple.
Be wary of any 'pre-registration' site that wants money from you up-front. At least one site is taking $20 up-front per name, and then another $20 if the
registration is successful - that's $40 to register a domain name, which is very expensive considering there are sites such as
http://www.SharedNIC.com or my own site,
http://www.DomainGuideBook.com, doing domain registrations for $15 or less. Even if these sites do make a legitimate attempt to register a name for you,
remember that people all over the world have the same idea, so your chances of registering 'Shoe.Shop' are somewhere between slim and zero.
Therefore I don't recommend that you get involved in this
pre-registration 'circus'. Your time would be better spent developing your business in other ways. But if you are intent on getting that name you always wanted, at least wait until the identity of the new TLDs is known,
and then find a reputable registration site to 'pre-register' the name for you.
I intend to write further about this important topic as soon as ICANN announce the identities of the new TLDs. To keep in touch with
developments, bookmark http://www.DomainGuideBook.com
- we have a live domain name news-feed on our home page which will keep you fully informed of events.
Finally, since this is my first article, I would like to say hello to you all, and let you know that I am
always happy to answer questions about any domain-related topic, either via email (lee@domainguidebook.com
), or via live the 'HumanClick' chat link on the web site. I look forward to
meeting you all. |
