New Domains aren’t so new anymore, and they’re becoming a big part of the internet

When ICANN first revealed the list of New Domain applications in June 2012, the idea of straying beyond the few domain names available on the internet at that time was hard to comprehend. Years later, there are more than 1,000 domain extensions that are available for registration. Even so, the majority of the population still has very little knowledge that there are options like .NINJA, .LAWYER, or .ROCKS available for their website.

But “very little” knowledge about New Domain names is a significant step from “no knowledge at all,” and frankly, an enormous leap for those who are in the domain industry. In fact, as little as two years ago most people still had no idea what a domain name was.

When we would go to conferences, years ago, to spread the word about New Domains and why they were great, people were unaware of their existence—and frankly, uninterested in using them. Why stray from the generic domains that we know and love?

But fast forward to the present and the change is overwhelming. More people then ever understand and embrance New Domains, with some of the most recognizable companies in the world putting them to use. Apple uses apple.news as a branded URL shortener. Amazon uses amazon.jobs and funny.reviews to highlight certain areas of their site. Companies are leveraging New Domains to create a short, memorable web presence that their customers are seeing and embracing.

Our recent trip to Web Summit was even more telling, with an impressive number of startups and entrepreneurs choosing to use New Domains in their primary URLs. We’re also seeing an increasing trend of businesses and websites ditching their generic domain names (which might not have been great due to their first choice already being taken), and converting to New Domain endings that are specific to what they do. And if you ask us, we think that’s pretty amazing.

The world is finally getting to know the quirky yet informative array of New Domains you can now choose from when creating a URL. And while this extended list of domain extensions can still be considered “new” in the grand scheme of things, it’s very possible that domains like .SOCIAL or .REVIEWS will be commonplace in just a matter of years. It’s an exciting time to be in the domain industry and we’re psyched to see what’s in store.