You Can Now Get 50 New Domain Extensions – Web.com Explains Why You Might Want One

Web.com is now offering more than 50 new domain extensions for pre-registration and purchase.  We reached out to Web.com to ask why 50 new domain extensions were even needed.

While most business owners would likely choose a .com extension before something harder to memorize like .technology or .tips, the new options may be cheaper.  Not only that, according to Web.com’s Senior Vice President of Domains, Bob Wiegand, they may be your only option if the .com domain you were looking for has already been taken.

Wiegand said in a phone interview with Small Business Trends that some of the best .com extensions are long since gone:

“If you go to our site and search for a name with a .com extension, you could try five or six times in a row and all the different options you try could be unavailable. The chances are good that someone already owns them.”

If you tried to buy a coveted .com at auction or from an existing seller, you could end up paying thousands of dollars.

The new extensions give more options. But Wiegand said that .com domains remain by far the most popular, and he doesn’t expect to see a massive adoption of the new domains overnight:

“Dot com is not dead. People are very familiar with it and there’s definitely a comfort level there. But over time I think we’ll see the growth rate of .coms slow as the new domains pick up.”

The process of purchasing domains with the new extensions won’t be any different than purchasing a .com domain. Web.com doesn’t actually own any of the domains or extensions. The owner of the domain extension sets a wholesale price, and Web.com then sets a retail price and serves as a storefront for customers to find and purchase domains. They may also be found through other providers.

However, because the new extensions have just been released, most are in pre-registration, meaning you can sign up to purchase them when they go live. If more than one party signs up for the domain during the pre-registration phase, the domain can go to an auction.  Even more extensions will be available in 10 to 12 months.

Appeal of New Domain Extensions Varies

Prices may vary based on how much interest there is in a particular extension.  Wiegand noted, “Some of the really niche names are not generic enough to have the broad based appeal of a .com, so there won’t be the same number of interested parties.”

For example, sites with a .bike extension might not have as many interested parties as a more general extension.  Small bike shops or similar businesses could be able to find bargains there.

Still, it’s too early for Web.com to say which domains might be bargains or how prices will compare with .coms, Wiegand said. In fact, extensions with wider appeal could attract a higher price tag, he added.

Quite a few of the new extensions are related to small business industries, such as .limo (which could be used for a limo service) or .photography (for a photography studio).  The new domain extensions include:

.academy

.bike

.builders

.cab

.camera

.camp

.careers

.center

.clothing

.company

.computer

.construction

.contractors

.diamonds

.directory

.domains

.education

.email

.enterprises

.equipment

.estate

.gallery

.glass

.graphics

.guru

.holdings

.institute

.kitchen

.land

.lighting

.limo

.luxury

.management

.menu

.photography

.photos

.plumbing

.recipes

.repair

.shoes

.singles

.solutions

.support

.systems

.technology

.tips

.today

.training

.ventures

.voyage

Image: Web.com

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