New Generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs)

For those of you that aren’t quite sure what Generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) are and what it will mean for you, this post will provide you with a slight overview. For almost a quarter century the web has been using Generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs). These are the extensions that follow your domain name immediately such as .com, .net, .biz, .info, and .org. there are also Country Code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs) such as .au, .uk, .ca, and so on.

Each of these extensions signifies exactly where a domain is located in the world or the type of domain. Because there are very few of these Generic Top Level Domains many of the larger companies are finding it very difficult to brand themselves in a way that describes the type of business, the quality of business, and the products they provide. All of this is about to change quite quickly and there may end up being a lot more of these generic top level domains such as .bank, .music, .computer, .companyname and so on.

What will all of this mean to you as an average surfer or registrant? Not much! In fact, unless you’re willing to spend over $185,000 on one of these new domains you will not be able to purchase one. To obtain one of these newly created gTLDs you will need to be able to afford the price tag that’s hanging over this new creation as well as being an established organization, institution or Corporation in good standing with the public. All of this really has no meaning right now because the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) hasn’t been able to pass the initiative, but they’re getting very close.

Basically, corporations, institutions, and organizations, will have the opportunity to brand themselves and use these extensions for their businesses which will allow their clients to identify who they are, what part of the world they are in, and what type of services they provide. There may be additional reasons for this change and you can be quite sure you will hear more about it.