In this article, I'll attempt to tackle some of the more popular domain name related issues, in an effort to help you make the right decisions in the process of buying a domain.
Extensions
There are many domain name extensions available today. It seems like virtually every country now sells domains with its own extension, or has at least sold the rights to the country extension to a Web company who has set up shop as the registrar.
Before I get too far in, let me say up-front that .com is the way to go, as most of you already know. If you are not one of these people, let me explain. Most Web users automatically type in .com when they're not sure of a domain name. So, if your domain name is yoururl.net, users might remember "yoururl" but not the .net extension.
It's a common problem -- and people will automatically type in .com most of the time. I know, because I run a site from a .net, and people often make the mistake of entering .com instead of .net -- it can be a real pain for me as well as the users! Nevertheless, in my case, I couldn't get a .com that was better than the .net, and you may find yourself in the same position. So let's not be completely blind to the other extensions out there.
If it's not a .com...
Next to .com, .net and .org are the most popular extensions. If you can't buy the name you want as a .com, but the .net version of the name exists, it might be worth grabbing. For instance, I own the domain SportsForums.net, and wanted to start a sports discussion community. I researched a few names, and found that though SportsForums.com was not available, SportsForums.net was. I felt that it was a good name, and registered it... and it's turned out to be a case where a good .net has definitely been worth it.
.org domains are commonly associated with organizations (mostly non-profit) and unless your project is one of these, I recommend staying away from the .org extension unless you find yourself unable to find anything in .com or .net. I also own a (recently purchased) .org, so I'll use it as an example.
QuickZip, a popular freeware archiver, is part of my network. It's been available for a quite a few years, but has never had its own domain name. QuickZip.com is taken. QuickZip.net is taken. QuickZip.org was available and I felt it was the best domain name for the site. The name of the program is QuickZip, not Quick-Zip, and so Quick-Zip.com wouldn't have been as good as the .org version of the actual product name. It's important that you consider points like this when you choose the domain for your own site.
Besides the core three extensions, .biz and .info have recently gained popularity, and rightfully so. Some names, the .com, .net and .org versions of which may be taken, might still be available in one of these two extensions. However, I'd only recommend you explore this avenue if your searches for primary extensions fail completely. If there's a perfect name that ends in .info or .biz, it may be worth taking. These domains can be branded with success.
Fad and International Extensions
Many other domain name extensions have been hyped up through glossy marketing campaigns in an attempt to boost their popularity, including .ws, .fm, .am, .tv, .to and .cc just to name a few! Personally, I'd stay away from these domains at all costs. You can usually find something good in .com and .net, if not that then .org, and if not that, then .biz or .info - you should not have to go so far as a .am, for instance. That said, of course there might be an extreme case where you may find one of these names useful - never say "never"!
There are also international extension domain names: each country has its own domain extension. For example, .com.au is Australian. It seems like every country now sells the rights to their own special extension, and the registrars that buy these rights are out there trying to make a few bucks off of them. Many of these names are available, but beware -- this is because they're too restrictive to be of real value to sites with a global user base. Some of these names can run you a pretty penny, and you may even be required to be a citizen of that particular country to register a name with the particular extension.
New.net created some controversy when they started to sell domain names from their Website. They sell domain names with many different extensions without ICANN approval, which means that they are not official, and are not officially recognized. As such, most Web users won't be able to access them without downloading a special plug-in.
For most Web users, these names just won't work, and it would be a mistake to use one of these names as the primary domain for a Website for this simple fact. These may work well as a "novelty" domain, but I wouldn't count on them for much more.
In conclusion, I can only say again: get a .com! And if not, then aim for a .net or a .org. Most major Websites use a .com -- and that isn't by mistake. However, this doesn't mean a .net or .org can't do well. It just means that it will be slightly harder to market than it would have been with a .com.
