Domain Name Registration with .Net, .Com, or .Info?

Contributed by Millie Dearborn

.Gov and .Edu Domain Name Registrations

Most domain names are up for grabs if no one is using them, but the domain name registration you choose is important. You are not tied to any particular set of guidelines. While certain countries may have possible endings, you are not required to have .uk if you're based in Britain. It's just an option. Such is not the case with .gov and .edu. These sites are reserved. Only members of a government entity or educational establishments can use these names.

So, you cannot have yourname.edu as a funny site with quips about the educational establishment. You have to resort to the tried and true .com area of domain name registration.

.Org and Country-specific Domain Name Registration

Just to reiterate, you do not have to use your nation's suffix to register your site. In fact, it is a bit of an assumption to assume that folks in the United States have a monopoly on the .com sites. After all, these sites are the most popular. There are times when you may want to use your country's suffix, though. If you have a site about tourism, and you only cover places in Canada, a .ca site may help your visitors realize that you are only covering Canadian provinces.

A .org site is the same. It is in a technical sense for people with organizations. If you run a group that advocates against animal cruelty or for reproductive rights, a .org seems to add a bit of legitimacy. It tells people that you are in fact an organization and not just one person running a website. You could, however, be just one person and still use a domain name registration that is a .org site. There is no check on you; the Internet police will not come for you because you used .org.

More »