Disability Accessibility Accessible Website Design

Country Code Domain Name Extensions TLDs

In this section of building a website we take a look at TLD's (top level domain) or domain name extensions that are available for different countries.

In this section of building a website we take a look at TLD's (top level domain) or domain name extensions that are available for different countries.

This article will be of use to anyone thinking of putting a website online, not just to our readers with disabilities following our series on building an accessible website for fun or profit.

What is a TLD?

TLD's are the letters that follow the final dot of any domain name. Management of most top level domains is delegated to organizations by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

Using the right domain extension can greatly boost your websites presence in local searches.

An important item to consider before buying a domain name is think what your website will be about. If its a personal for fun website or blog the following doesn't really matter, but if your website is a local business and maybe an extension to your bricks and mortar shop front you should consider a local domain name extension. eg ".com.au" for Australian businesses, ".com.us" for the USA, ".fr" for France, ".jp" for Japan, ".co.uk and ".uk.com" for United Kingdom etc. This will often give far better results in the search engines when local people search for example "Real Estate London" and your website has a .co.uk extension. It also helps with local search if your .co.uk domain is also physically hosted in the UK and your server IP address is U.K. based. More on these factors later in our website building series.

List of TLD's or Domain Name Extensions

.aero - The .aero domain is reserved for companies, organizations, associations, government agencies, and individuals in aviation and related industries.
.am - The country code for Armenia, but commonly used for AM radio.

.biz - The .BIZ domain can only be used for a "bona fide business or commercial use".
.br.com - 2nd Level Domain for Brazil. There are no restrictions or rules when registering these domains
.bz - The country-coded Top Level Domain (ccTLD) for the country of Belize. Anyone in the world can register a .bz name.

.ca - Canada's ccTLD. There are additional contact attributes required for the Canadian ccTLD.
.cc - Top level domain for the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Anyone in the world can register a .cc domain for any purpose.
.com - Short for .commercial. Domain names with the .com extension are by far the most popular, and can be purchased by any individual or business.
.com.cn - China's ccTLD. Any business or organization, worldwide, can register a .CN name.
.com.tw - Taiwan's ccTLD. Any business or organization, worldwide, can register a .com.tw or .org.tw name.
.coop - A sponsored top-level domain intended for the use of cooperatives, wholly owned subsidiaries, and other organisations that exist to promote or support co-operatives.
.cn - China's ccTLD. Any business or organization, worldwide, can register a .CN name.
.cn.com - 2nd Level Domain for China. There are no restrictions or rules when registering these domains
.co.uk - United Kingdom

.de - Germany's ccTLD The administrative contact must have a street address or P.O. box within Germany.
.de.com  - 2nd Level Domain for Germany. There are no restrictions or rules when registering these domains

.eu.com - 2nd Level Domain for Europe. There are no restrictions or rules when registering these domains

.fm - The country code for Federated States of Micronesia, but is commonly used for FM radio.

.hu.com - 2nd Level Domain for Hungary. There are no restrictions or rules when registering these domains

.idv.tw - Taiwan's ccTLD. Any business or organization, worldwide, can register a .com.tw or .org.tw name.
.in - Top level domain for India. Anyone in the world can register a .in name.
.info - domains are available to the general public.

.jp - Japanese address requirements. Multilingual names will not be supported.

.la - The country extension for Laos, but also used for Los Angeles, Louisiana or Latin America.

.me - Montenegro Anyone may apply for a .ME and these domains are expected to be in high demand.
.me.uk - United Kingdom
.mobi - A top-level domain approved by ICANN for use with mobile or cell phones.
.museum - A sponsored top-level domain (TLD) used exclusively by museums, museum associations, and individual members of the museum profession.

.name - Available to the general public.
.net-  Short for .network, domains using this extension can be registered by anyone.
.net.cn  - China's ccTLD. Any business or organization, worldwide, can register a .CN name.
.no.com - 2nd Level Domain for Norway. There are no restrictions or rules when registering these domains
.nu - The ccTLD for the country of Niue, these domains can be registered by anyone.

.org - Any individual or business may now register a .org domain name.
.org.cn - China's ccTLD. Any business or organization, worldwide, can register a .CN name.
.org.tw - Any business or organization, worldwide, can register a .com.tw or .org.tw domain name.
.org.uk - United Kingdom

.pro - A generic top-level domain intended for business use by qualified professionals. The extension was originally launched in June 2004 with registrations restricted to lawyers, accountants, physicians and engineers in France, Canada, UK and the US.

.qc.com - 2nd Level Domain for Quebec. There are no restrictions or rules when registering these domains

.ru.com - 2nd Level Domain for the Russian Federation. There are no restrictions or rules when registering these domains

.sa.com - 2nd Level Domain for Saudi Arabia. There are no restrictions or rules when registering these domains
.se.com - 2nd Level Domain for Sweden. There are no restrictions or rules when registering these domains
.se.net - 2nd Level Domain for Sweden. There are no restrictions or rules when registering these domains

.tm - are available to anyone within the International Community. 
.tv - TV has a category of domain names called "Premium Names" which have a different pricing structure.

.uk.com - 2nd Level Domain for the United Kingdom. There are no restrictions or rules when registering these domains
.uk.net - 2nd Level Domain for the United Kingdom. There are no restrictions or rules when registering these domains
.us - Only those individuals or organizations that have a lawful connection to the United States are permitted to register for . usTLD domain names.
.us.com - 2nd Level Domain for the United States. There are no restrictions or rules when registering these domains
.uy.com - 2nd Level Domain for Uruguay. There are no restrictions or rules when registering these domains

.ws - Western Samoa's ccTLD

.za.com - 2nd Level Domain for South Africa. There are no restrictions or rules when registering these domains.

Two letter Country Code Domain Name Extensions

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