Website addresses are comprised of two primary components: a domain name and a domain name extension. While almost everyone knows and is familiar with domain names, not many people are familiar with domain extensions. There are thousands of different domain name extensions that you can have for your website, but some are more popular than others. Popular domain name extensions include:
Out of these, .com and .net extensions are most commonly used by individuals and businesses who work or interact with general online audiences. Furthermore, end-users use .com as their default extension when they are unsure of their desired domain’s extension, as do businesses and brands that want to build a general-purpose online platform.
With this in mind, if the more desirable .com domain extension is available for your domain name of choice, why should you buy a .net domain?
Although both the .net and .com extensions are very popular, there are various factors to consider before choosing between them. Regardless of what you intend to use your website for, your domain extension will play a crucial role in the minds of your visitors and will affect your website’s search engine ranking.
It’s essential to consider these three factors to help decide whether you should go for the .net or .com extension:
The primary purpose of your website is a key determinant of the extension you should choose. Are you selling a product or service? Are you providing a specific type of information? Are you running a charitable organization? Whatever it is that you do, there is a domain extension for it.
Another factor to consider is the popularity of your business name. If your business name is popular, then it is very likely that the .com extension for your desired business name is unavailable. If that is the case, then .net would be an excellent alternative for you.
Last year, over 46% of websites used the .com extension, while only 3.7% used the .net extension. It might be easier for you to register a domain with the .net extension because it is more likely that someone already registered your name with the .com extension.
However, we recommend that you check the availability of different domain names and extensions before making a decision. Taking the time to plan your website strategy ahead of time will save you a lot of time and energy when you start developing your site and building your brand.
The last factor you should consider is how easy it is to remember your domain name. Sites with the .com extension are easier to remember than others, and it is the default extension for most users who don’t remember a website’s extension. Also, many browsers use the .com extension when auto-completing website URLs, so if the .com extension is available for your website, then you should give it preference over a .net extension.
Many experts recommend purchasing the .net extension for your website in addition to the .com extension. This will protect you from competitors who might try to use your website’s name with a .net extension to either commit fraud or to pass themselves off as your website. Also, buying the .net extension of your existing domain name gives you the option to expand your brand in the future.
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