Every day we’re bombarded with news about new domains. New launches, massive investments, dazzling statistics. Let’s be honest: everyone in the domain registration business wants these sky-high expectations to come true. But let’s face facts. So far, new domains have been one giant bluff.
New domains (extensions like .club, .web, or .hotel) were supposed to permanently change the way we think about internet addresses. We keep reading about billion-dollar investments and impressive growth numbers. But the real story is in the data.
The number of new domains actually registered sits well below expectations. Around 4 million domains are registered across more than 400 new extensions. A significant chunk of those were given away without users even asking for them (as happened with .xyz). Compared with the 115+ million .com domains registered worldwide, new domain volume is essentially a rounding error.
There are several reasons for this slow start. The main one: ICANN and the other parties involved overlooked something essential. A new extension needs to earn name recognition before users will trust it.
Domains people trust
We’ve been using extensions like .com, .es, or .cl for years, and that familiarity means we instinctively trust them. The sudden appearance of so many new options in such a short time confuses users and dilutes the effectiveness of any marketing effort. There’s simply too much noise for any single message to cut through. As a result, most users still hesitate to register these new types of domains.
The challenge for new domains is to become recognized brands in their own right. That, and only that, will let their market grow steadily over time. And it will only be when a new domain makes it off the screen and onto a shop sign, a flyer, or a magazine page that we’ll know it has genuinely arrived. Photo: Bubble Mathematics by Tim
