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Tips for choosing a domain extension (TLD)

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Tips for choosing a domain extension (TLD)

Domain name registration is the first step in creating your website, and it’s necessary to make it visible online. Each domain name contains a subdomain, a second-level domain, and a top-level domain (TLD). For example, the domain “www.hostens.com“, contains a subdomain (WWW), a second-level domain (HOSTENS), and a top-level domain (.COM).

Domain types are split into generic top-level domains (gTLD) and country-code top-level domains (ccTLD), where ccTLD domains are linked to a specific country.

Let’s take a closer look at Generic top-level domains (gTLD):

You will encounter the gLTD domains almost all the time when browsing online. So, what exactly does the gTLD mean? This domain type refers to one of the top-level domains like .com, .net, org, .biz, etc. These ones are the most popular examples of the Generic Top-Level Domains.

Let’s take a closer look at Country-code top-level domains (ccTLD):

These domain types are also prevalent, especially if you want to link a domain to a specific country. This directly indicates to the visitor which country your domain is oriented to and shows where your business is located. Example of ccTLDs:

.lt – Lithuania
.us – United States of America
.ca – Canada
.nl – Netherlands

How do you choose a domain type? Which one is better for me, ccTLD or gTLD?

The main reason for choosing ccTLDs is that they target users in a specific area. This is important for businesses based in a particular country or location. Also, using a ccTLD will give you a slight boost when ranking in its respective country. However, a ccTLD would be the best choice for local businesses or websites without intending to expand outside the country. The gTLD is your best choice if you want to target multiple countries that speak various languages. It allows you to create one website with a generic top-level domain and subfolders with different languages. For example, let’s take the domain name my-website.com. With this domain, you can create a website with the primary language (www.my-website.com) and subfolders for different languages based on the required countries like (www.my-website.com/lt), (www.my-website.com/en), etc. Another way is to create a specific subdomain for the specific language, like lt.my-website.com or en.my-website.com, which also looks much better with the gTLD instead of ccTLD.

Multiple domain extensions:

Another option is registering multiple domain extensions, so don’t worry about someone else taking them. You can choose one that will be visible online and redirect the other domain names to this one.

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