The .Com is Gone – Do you build on a .Org or .Net?
Most of us would like to have the .Com to start a web business. But nowadays with prices of good .Coms reaching into the stratosphere sometimes we have to go with our second choice and quite often that comes down to the .Org or .Net.
So as a prospective site builder which one of these would you go for?
Well first off the reports from quite a few domainers is that org is now in the number two slot as sales have been more frequent and larger than their .Net counterparts. (Although recently there have been some very nice .Net sales.)
Actually there are quite a few .Net haters out there as they feel it basically says I couldn’t get the .Com and this is what I’m stuck with.
Also if you look at the adverts on the television and in magazines I have been seeing quite a few .Org sites popping up. So the trend is certainly working in their favour.
As for myself I really don’t have a preference for either and think both are well recognized in web users minds.
So where did they both come from. Well both were established in 1985. The .Org was originally intended for non profit organizations and there was a certain aura of trust and respectability around a site with this extension.
The .Net was initially intended to be used by network providers, such as ISPS, but there were no restrictions as to who could register them so a lot of companies chose this (sort of as a second .com)
Obviously certain terms suit one extension better than the other, for example ChildrensCharity.Org sounds more appropriate than ChildrensCharity.Net – but HardRock.Net has a better feel than HardRock.Org . So it really depends on what you want to do with the site as to what extension you go for.
At the end of the day both are good strong extensions and I really wouldn’t worry which one you get as it’s what you do with the site that matters. The extension will have very little impact on whether you succeed or fail. So stop worrying about what the resellers are saying and build that site.
James
Why don’t you offer other extensions for development?
I would lean towards developing a .tv and add lots of video if the subject matter was appropriate.
I would consider .info since it has a global appeal.
.org would be fine if the content was right.
To me, generally .net means I couldn’t get the .com so I developed the .net where these other extensions are more of a choice as an alternative to the .com.
I would build on a .biz if the business was a local business for a local reach only like plumbers and caterers.
Maybe a .us if the content was political or clearly US based or focused.
I would develop a .mobi if the content was specifically designed for a mobile device.
I would not develop a .ws, .cc, .name, .me etc since less than 1% of end users even know these extensions. However, if you had the one word domain that perfectly fit your business plan then MAYBE I would consider it but you are going to spend years of time and lots of money marketing the crapy extension. You would be better off to buy a better domain.
That’s my take… if you were asking
If your desired .com is taken, then look for variants in the .com, it’s worth the effort if you’re building a brand. .net and .org is the easy way out and less satisfying in the end…
Find yourself a catchy variant of the .com you want — be creative! And you never know when a better name might become available again through the daily domain drop!
I agree with you, here in Portugal people (who are not domainers) know very well about COM, ORG and ccTLD’s, they are now also starting to be very familiar with NET and TV
These are my future perspectives about domains, i know many people are going to say: what? dot TV? that sucks, thats trash etc… but the truth is at least in Europe dot TV is becoming strong, and ccTLD’s are starting to be number one instead of COM
I believe that to an end user the most important are Keywords that describe well your site or business
Thanks for your comments guys. Rob. I agree with the .info and .biz, but i’d leave .mobi alone and possibly build on a .tv (i actually think in the future that this could be one to watch, but am not a fan of the tiered pricing.)
All com / net / org developed websites come up and get embraced by search engines / visitors…the domain name doesn’t make or break a web site / biz… It is the content.
There really is no difference though between going with .net or .org if the .com is unavail unless your website is “non profit” only then it makes sense to go with .org
Best,
Mike
I have to agree with the article. The growing registrations and usage of alternative (non-.com) names is on the rise. In fact, some of the extensions that are specific such as .asia, .info, .travel, and others can be great investment opportunities.
The cold hard truth is that you must choose a good domain name AND a good domain name doesn’t need to be a .com, but it needs to be clear, short and easy to remember, with keywords.