Ask HN: What are the best TLDs to rely on for the long-term?

#1

Post by Asdrubalini » Tue, May 03, 2022, 8:28 AM UTC

I am looking for a cool domain name, mostly for personal email and blogs. It should also be short and easy to spell, and most importantly, reliable in the long term. I don't want to lose it in 10 or 20 years because some random country where the domain is based in decides to take it away from me or some other political issues.

Are only the traditional ones (.com, .net, .org) good for this purpose? For example .me is cool but it is the official TLD for Montenegro, or .ai which is for Anguilla. What about .xyz or .space? Can I rely on them?

Also feel free to suggest reliable registries.

Thanks!

Re: Ask HN: What are the best TLDs to rely on for the long-term?

#2

Post by 369548684892826 » Tue, May 03, 2022, 9:02 AM UTC

Doesn't this depend in part on your own nationality? If you are Montenegran then you should probably be less worried about future .me rule changes working against you.

Re: Ask HN: What are the best TLDs to rely on for the long-term?

#3

Post by searchableguy » Tue, May 03, 2022, 10:14 AM UTC

Go for .com

Re: Ask HN: What are the best TLDs to rely on for the long-term?

#4

Post by ajonit » Tue, May 03, 2022, 10:40 AM UTC

.com - In all probability the domain ideas you first come up with would be unavailable. Get creative and secure short, pronounceable domain but don’t look beyond .com.

Re: Ask HN: What are the best TLDs to rely on for the long-term?

#5

Post by cudder » Tue, May 03, 2022, 10:41 AM UTC

Nobody really knows with the new vanity TLDs. They probably won't just disappear into thin air, but price hikes or other dark behaviours from their owners are possible. Delivering mail from them might be a bit harder too.

.io already raised their prices once it became the hip and cool TLD. .ai will likely see the same fate. On top of that there's the possibility that ccTLD's might impose restrictions on foreigners getting their domains.

I'd say go with the traditional ones like com/net/org, or your own country's ccTLD.

Re: Ask HN: What are the best TLDs to rely on for the long-term?

#6

Post by exdsq » Tue, May 03, 2022, 10:46 AM UTC

cudder wrote: post #5

Nobody really knows with the new vanity TLDs. They probably won't just disappear into thin air, but price hikes or other dark behaviours from their owners are possible. Delivering mail from them might be a bit harder too. .io already raised their prices once it became the hip and cool TLD. .ai will likely see the same fate. On top of that there's the possibility that ccTLD's might impose restrictions on foreigners ge…

.ai is already way more expensive than .io; I looked the other day and if I remember correctly it was $100pa. I usually get .io for around $33 a year.

There’s some vanity domains that are $249 a Year

Re: Ask HN: What are the best TLDs to rely on for the long-term?

#7

Post by 2000UltraDeluxe » Tue, May 03, 2022, 11:29 AM UTC

The advice I usually give to customers is:

* .org if you're a non-profit with international presence.

* .com is good for most international businesses.

* .eu can be used as an alternative to .com for businesses and organizations in the EU.

* Country-specific tld's should only be used for services aimed at those specific countries.

* Avoid .net unless you're a network operator (edit: the same applies to .aero unless you're doing aviation stuff).

Anything else can be considered to be of novelty value only. Do not base your business on one of the new gtld's, but feel free to use them for landing pages or specific campaigns. Skip the cool domains like .io. Exception: .nu, which has long been used as a secondary tld in Denmark and Sweden.

Re: Ask HN: What are the best TLDs to rely on for the long-term?

#8

Post by rosndo » Tue, May 03, 2022, 11:52 AM UTC

2000UltraDeluxe wrote: post #7

The advice I usually give to customers is: * .org if you're a non-profit with international presence. * .com is good for most international businesses. * .eu can be used as an alternative to .com for businesses and organizations in the EU. * Country-specific tld's should only be used for services aimed at those specific countries. * Avoid .net unless you're a network operator (edit: the same applies to .aero unless y…

> * .eu can be used as an alternative to .com for businesses and organizations in the EU.

This is bad advice. Nobody should use .eu

Re: Ask HN: What are the best TLDs to rely on for the long-term?

#9

Post by 2000UltraDeluxe » Tue, May 03, 2022, 11:54 AM UTC

rosndo wrote: post #8

2000UltraDeluxe wrote: post #7

The advice I usually give to customers is: * .org if you're a non-profit with international presence. * .com is good for most international businesses. * .eu can be used as an alternative to .com for businesses and organizations in the EU. * Country-specific tld's should only be used for services aimed at those specific countries. * Avoid .net unless you're a network operator (edit: the same applies to .aero unless y…

> * .eu can be used as an alternative to .com for businesses and organizations in the EU. This is bad advice. Nobody should use .eu

Why's that? It's pefectly usable for things like portal pages linking to country-specific pages.

Re: Ask HN: What are the best TLDs to rely on for the long-term?

#10

Post by HershheleGibbs » Tue, May 03, 2022, 11:56 AM UTC

Here's what I think.

I believe that the best TLDs to rely on for the long-term are .com and .net. The reason for this is that these are tried and true TLDs that have been around forever, and they are trusted by consumers. We know this because when we have tested it, we found that people trust these TLDs more than any other TLD, by far. So I would advise you to go with one of them.