In 1985, The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) released six top-level domain names. These top-level domains (TLD) became known as domain name extensions and represent the highest level in the Domain Name System hierarchy. They include:

  • .com: Shorthand for commercial, .com was the first top-level domain in common use. While .com was initially created for use by commercial organizations, restrictions on this were not stringent. By the mid-1990s, .com had become the most popular and commonly used type of top-level domain for businesses, websites, and email.
  • .net: Shorthand for network, .net was created expressly for institutes that partook in network technologies such as an internet service provider or an infrastructure company. Like with .com, the restrictions meant to limit .net to networking purposes was never upheld and it became one of the more popular top-level domains, with many seeing it as a close second to using the .com top level domain.
  • .edu: shorthand for education, .edu was made for education institutions. Although it was intended for universities everywhere, the TLD .edu became associated with only educational centers in America.
  • .org: shorthand for organization, .org was created for nonprofits. As we’ve seen with these other top-level domains, such intentions were often not upheld or enforced over time.
  • .gov: shorthand for the government, .gov is restricted to governmental agencies use only.

To register a domain name, I use Domain & Server, since they provide hosting too and have bundles/offers. So, I usually end up getting great deals

There are certain guidelines which you might need while selecting a domain name. I have mentioned them below, just in case they are needed:

Registering a domain name has a certain set of rules:

  • A domain name can’t be more than 63 characters including the extension.
  • You may use a hyphen (-). Multiple hyphens can be used but two hyphens cannot be used together. For example, www.Domain-And-Server.com can be used but www.Domain–And-Server.com cannot exist.
  • A domain name cannot begin or end with a hyphen. For example, http://www.-DomainAndServer.com cannot exist.
  • A combination of numbers, letters, and hyphen can also be used.
  • Domain names can only consist of numbers and letters. Letters of other languages, like Chinese, Latin, Arabic can also be used in a domain name. For example, منظمة العفو الدولية , 淘宝网 … exist on the internet.
  • The name length must be at least 3 characters. Any length of fewer than 3 characters has to be specially applied for at ICANN.
  • Other forms of symbols, punctuation or special characters cannot be used.
  • Domain names are not case sensitive.
  • Characters like # , % , & , * , @, ) ,( , etc. cannot be used in a domain name

Source: Quora Answer

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