A strong domain name reflects your brand. Whether you make it the same or similar to the brand’s name is not so important as long as it truly represents your business.
A good domain name gives you visibility, adds credibility and strengthens your brand. But coming up with a short, concise, catchy name isn’t always an easy endeavor. Even when you find it, you’re still not done because another important decision awaits you. Next, it is decided which domain extension to use.
Domain extensions are important because they reflect the purpose of a website. Although there are many extensions on the web, the most popular are .net and .com. But how do you decide which one to go with? Is one better than the other? In this article, we will talk about the difference between .net and .com so that you know exactly which one to choose for your business. Topics we will discuss include:
A full domain name consists of two parts – a top-level domain (TLD) and a second-level domain (SLD). The only thing after the period (.) and before slashes like .net or .com is a domain extension or TLD. An SLD is what comes before the period. For example, on qodeinteractive.com, “qodeinteractive” is the SLD, and “.com” is the TLD.
HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) and HTTPS (Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol) are request-response protocols used for data transfer on the web and are generally not considered part of a domain name.
The reason TLDs are important is because without them you have to use IP addresses or numbers to access websites. Fortunately, nowadays you can choose from a variety of domain extensions and categorize your website based on your business type, location and content.
The ubiquitous .com and .net are generic top-level domains or gTLDs. The difference between them lies in what they represent.
As a rule, The .com extension is best suited to commercial establishments and any profitable business.
.net extension is used for network and therefore popular with internet, e-mail and database service providers.
However, many businesses today register domains with both extensions to ensure that no one else takes their SLD and registers it using a different extension.
The .net extension stands for “network”. It is the second most used top-level domain, but not as popular as its .com counterpart. And so, the .net domain name you have in mind will likely be available.
.net was created for service companies and network-related websites. Excellent choice for web and email hosting websites as well as internet and cable providers. This extension is also suitable for any technology and application based business.
When you register a .net domain extension, get .com as well if possible, and not because that will ensure that no one else gets your customers but you. Humans are creatures of habit and we are more used to the .com extension. When you register both the .com and .net version, you can redirect users from .com to the main .net website and maximize your traffic.
The .com extension is short for “commercial”. This TLD is by far the most popular and recognizable among them and is what people expect to hear when discussing websites.
.com works great for almost all individuals and businesses around. It’s great for online stores, portfolio websites, law firms, news portals, blogs, marketing agencies and any profitable business.
The problem with the .com extension lies in its popularity and the fact that everyone wants to use it. Therefore, there is a good chance that someone else has already grabbed the domain name you have in mind. Ideally, you start thinking about the domain name when choosing a business name. You check availability in the early stages, which saves you some trouble and a lot of nerves later.
From an SEO perspective, the .com extension has no built-in advantages over .net. Whichever you use, search engines treat them all the same.
However, the .com TLD instills trust, so websites with this suffix may be getting more traffic. People know all the big brands use it, but spam sites usually don’t, so a .com site may get more visits through Google search results than pages with different TLDs.
The only time the extension affects your site’s ranking is with national SEO. Choosing an official country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for a particular country can help you rank in local searches. For example, if your business is located in the UK and you go with the .uk extension, your site will likely rank well in the UK and get more clicks.
To get a domain name, you can buy it in the following ways:
Registrars are businesses that register domain names with appropriate authorities such as ICANN (Internet Authority for Assigned Names and Numbers) and regional organizations responsible for ccTLDs. Most popular domain registrars GoDaddy and cheap name. Both sites often have special offers, so prices can go as low as $6 for a .com domain, but they usually stay in the $12 to $18 price range. Even before you assign a domain name to a website or an email service, you can register it and save it for later use. it’s called “field parking” or “cash parking” because many people buy domain names just to sell it to someone else and make money from it.
many web hosting services such as DreamHost, blue hostand HostGator, They offer a free domain name when you purchase their web hosting plan. However, after a year or two, registrars will likely start billing you. So, when purchasing the hosting plan, pay attention to how many bills your hosting provider covers from the registrar. If you’re running a WordPress website, consider this option as you need a hosting service in both cases, so you can get the domain name at the same time.
If WordPress is not your platform of choice and you prefer to use another website builder (eg. square space, Weeblyor Wix), good to know that many Add a free domain when you purchase their premium plan. Again, keep in mind that they usually only cover one billing from the registrar, after which you’ll have to handle the costs on your own.
Decision
The difference between .net and .com lies in the type of business they represent. Once you’ve found the brand name and decided what kind of website you want to run, register your desired domain name and choose the extension that suits your business. .net is best suited for network-related, technology, and application websites, but the .com TLD should be used by all other industries that are more reliable between the two.
Both domain extensions perform well, but .com is somewhat of a default suffix. People are used to it, they trust it, so they will be more likely to visit a site ending in .com.
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