Did you know? The latest top-level domain available to website owners, the .xyz domain, has reached 6.4 million registrations since its inception. It’s in the top 15 registered domains, up there with .com, info, .net and .org. But despite its position amongst the top registered domains of all time, many aren’t aware of the domain extension, and why it’s so useful.
The .xyz domain name is a generic top-level domain. What is a generic top-level domain? It’s the most commonly used category of domain extensions, not specific to a region or type of business. This category includes .com, .org, .net and .info.
Despite the high amount of registrations this extension has had, it’s widely unknown, particularly in South Africa. Launched in 2014 by Daniel Negari, it reached 1.5 million registrations just one year later. While many attribute its success to Google’s use of the domain extension for their Alphabet Inc website, abc.xyz, there are more reasons for its success other than its awareness generated from the search engine giant. We take a look at these reasons below.
.xyz is safe to use
As with all generic top-level domains, .xyz is a completely safe domain extension to use as part of your domain name. It is under the registry of Negari’s company, .XYZ, and is safeguarded by robust security tools to mitigate phishing and malware attacks. If Google uses it, rest assured the domain extension is safe to use.
Why use the .xyz domain?
1. Your dream domain name is more likely to be available
As more and more SMEs take their businesses online, the less chance your domain name attached to a popular generic top-level domain is available. According to Negari, 99% of all registrar searches today result in a “domain taken” page. If this sounds familiar, or you’re about to start the domain registration process and don’t want to waste your time finding all the weird and wonderful ways to secure your desired name, a .xyz is the perfect solution. Your domain name is less likely to have been snatched up.
2. It offers a modern solution
The .xyz domain extension, while not as well known, has a number of benefits going for it that offer solutions to SMEs moving online today:
- It’s short and sweet
- It’s a generic domain name that doesn’t peg your online presence to a specific region or industry
- It’s easily understood by all and does not relate to a specific language
- Its letters make up the end of the alphabet, making it memorable
Despite it being largely unknown in South Africa, the .xyz domain is becoming an increasingly popular domain extension that allows SMEs to get online safely, while securing their ideal website address with no fuss or hassles. Plus, you get a free .xyz domain name when purchased with the web hosting package of your choice!
