Module 2 · 2.2
Which extension suits you?
Module 2: Choosing a good name · Reading time: 9 minutes
Learning objective: After this lesson you can choose an extension that suits your audience, your country and your plans, and decide which other extensions to register as well.
Key concepts: country extension, .com, .eu, new gTLDs, trust, registrant requirements, registering multiple extensions, main domain, email address on the domain
Start with your visitors
The question isn't which extension looks nicest, but which one your visitors expect. Someone in the Netherlands looking for a baker types .nl after the name out of habit. A German customer types .de, a Belgian one .be. An international customer tries .com first. If you choose an extension your visitors don't expect, they risk ending up on someone else's site, or nowhere at all.
So ask yourself three questions:
- Where are my customers? In one country, in a few European countries or everywhere?
- What do they expect? Which extension do they type out of habit, and which do they trust?
- What are my plans? Will you stay local, or will you start selling across the border in a few years?
The country extension: close and familiar
For a business that works mainly in one country, the country extension is usually the best choice: .nl in the Netherlands, .be in Belgium, .de in Germany. Visitors recognise it straight away as local. That builds trust: many visitors see a .nl domain as Dutch, even though anyone may register one.
Do keep the rules for each extension in mind (lesson 1.2). Anyone can register a .nl, .de or .be domain, including people outside the country. For .de, DENIC can have you designate where legal post for you can be sent, but only if someone with a trademark or name right asks for it. If you live outside the Netherlands, the SIDN office counts as your address for official documents for .nl.
.com: international, but often taken
The .com extension is the best known in the world. If you work internationally, or have customers without a fixed country extension, .com is a logical choice. Two drawbacks: good short .com names were taken long ago, and in the Netherlands or Germany a .com domain feels less local to some visitors.
Example Bakery uses example.com for its website. That works, but many customers in Utrecht will type the .nl version out of habit. If the bakery doesn't own it, they end up somewhere else.
.eu: European, with requirements
The .eu extension shows that you work across Europe without choosing one country. It does come with requirements: you must be a citizen of an EU country, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway, or live in one of those countries, or your organisation must be established there. If your business moves to a country outside that group, you no longer meet the conditions and you may lose the domain.
New gTLDs: eye-catching, but less familiar
Many new extensions have been added, such as .shop, .app or .amsterdam. They can be a good fit: a short name that was taken on .com long ago may still be free on a new extension, and the extension immediately says something about your business or your city. Drawbacks: not everyone recognises them as a real web address, people still type .nl or .com out of habit, and some registries set their own requirements. So preferably use a new gTLD alongside a well-known extension, not instead of one.
Registering multiple extensions
Many businesses register the same name on several extensions. There are good reasons for this:
- Visitors who type the wrong extension still reach you if you forward the extra domain to your main domain.
- Nobody else can piggyback on your name with an extension you left unclaimed (lesson 7.2).
- Plans for later: if you want to sell in Germany in a few years, the .de domain may already be gone by then.
But every extra domain is also something to look after: renewals, correct details, security. So don't register every extension that exists. Choose the extensions visitors would actually type, plus the ones that fit your plans.
Also choose one main domain. That's where your website lives and where your email addresses are. The other domains forward to the main domain. If you use several domains side by side for the same content, visitors and search engines get confused.
Your email address on the domain
Your email address uses the same name and extension as your main domain. That makes the choice even more important. You pass on an email address verbally, it appears on invoices and in your customers' address books. If you switch extensions later, customers will keep emailing the old address for years.
A pitfall: suppose you use info@ on your .com domain, but customers type .nl out of habit. If you don't own that .nl domain, their mail goes to whoever does. That's not just annoying, it can also put confidential information in a stranger's hands.
In practice: how it works at WebOké
When you search for a name at WebOké using Domain search, you immediately see whether it's available and, below that, "Other extensions for" your name, with fifteen popular extensions at once. If you want to register several domains at once, you can do so via Bulk domains at https://www.weboke.nl/en/bulkdomeinen. You set up forwarding for extra domains in My WebOké on the Forwards tab. Other registrars work in a similar way.
Summary
- Choose the extension your visitors expect: locally usually the country extension, internationally often .com.
- .eu shows that you work across Europe, but you must keep meeting the registrant requirements.
- New gTLDs are eye-catching but less familiar; preferably use them alongside a well-known extension.
- Register the extensions visitors would type and that fit your plans, and forward them to one main domain.
- Your email address depends on your main domain: you'll feel a wrong choice for years.
Quiz
Exercise
Exercise D2.2: Your choice of extension. Make a well-founded choice of extensions for your own organisation (or one you know). Write down which main domain you choose and which extra extensions you register or already have.
Tick off when you've done this:
- I've written down where my customers are and which extension they type out of habit.
- I've checked whether I meet the registrant requirements for my chosen extensions.
- I've chosen one main domain for website and email.
- For each extra extension, I've written down why I do or don't register it.
- I know how to forward the extra domains to my main domain.
Then answer these questions for yourself:
- Which extension is your main domain, and why does it suit your visitors?
- Which extension might a customer type by mistake, and do you own that domain?
- Which extension have you deliberately not registered, and why not?
Exercise D2.2: Your choice of extension
You do this exercise yourself; no one checks it. Tick off what you've done and mark the exercise as done.
a main name with an extension that suits where the customers are (locally usually the country extension, internationally often .com), naming the registrant requirements where they apply (.eu: citizenship, residence or establishment in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway); the extension customers type out of habit is registered, or there is a deliberate reason not to (mentioning the risk of misdirected email); extra names redirect to the main name; one extension deliberately skipped, with a reason (no target audience, extra management).
Your ticks and notes only stay in this browser; we don't send them anywhere. If you're signed in, we only save in My courses that you've done the exercise.