Want to know the important difference between domain extensions COM and NET? Keep reading to find out more.
In this article, we will explain in detail the most important difference between domain extensions COM and NET domain extensions & which one should you choose.
Table of Contents
What Are .COM and .NET Domain Extensions?
A domain name is nothing but a website’s address or url on the world wide web.
The domain name for this website is myblogmaster.com.
Now, a domain name always has an extension & this extension is referred to as Top Level Domain (TLD). A few examples are given below,
- myblogmaster.com
- myblogmaster.net
- myblogmaster.org
- myblogmaster.website
- myblogmaster.online
Extensions like .com, .net or even .org are just a few to mention, but you can choose from a wide range of domain extensions when making your website.
Most of the new domain extensions like .bitcoin, .homes, .autos, .motorcycles, .tattoo, .website & hundreds more have been created in recent years.
Having said that, extensions were originally created for different types of websites & had a specific meaning.
Anyway, you need to choose a domain extension that matches the type of business you do so that you can build a brand name for yourself in your industry.
Important Difference Between Domain Extensions COM And NET
In this section you will understand the important difference between domain extensions COM and NET
.COM & .NET are two of the most popular extensions since the beginning of time as far as the world wide web is concerned.
Having said that, .NET is probably not a good option for your website in most of the cases.
The “COM” in the .COM domain name indicates a commercial website.
.COM can cover a variety of websites such as a business websites, make money online websites, portfolio websites, personal blogs & many more.
Where as, the “NET” in the .NET extension stands for “network”.
.NET can cover the internet, networking, email service providers & many more.
When Should You Choose .COM?
The .COM domain extension has been synonymous with the world wide web since the so called ‘dot com’ boom, which came around in the 1990s.
Currently, over 41% of all registered domain extensions for websites are .COM domains.
When you ask someone to name any website, they will subconsciously associate that website with a .COM domain extension, such is the impact of .COM extension on people’s mind since the 1990s.
It’s not just familiar but it also makes your website seem professional.
If you check the keyboards of your mobile phones, you will realize that most keyboards have a dedicated .COM extension button on them. Such is the impact of this extension.
But with all the good things about this domain extension, there is also a problem associated with it.
You might have noticed that .COM domain extensions are so popular that, it seems as if all the good ones are already being taken.
However, there are still clever methods to get the perfect .COM domain name extension.
Here are some things you can try:
- Check that your domain name represents your business and what you do. For example, cheaphosting.com would be better than simply hosting.com, if you are writing about saving money for web hostings.
- If the domain name that you want is already taken, then you can add a word before or after it to make it unique, as mentioned above “cheaphosting.com”.
- Also, make sure that your domain name is easy to pronounce & can be remembered without much effort.
- Don’t use hyphens or numbers in your domain name.
When Should You Choose .NET?
As discussed earlier, almost 41% of the website have a .COM extension but that does not mean that the .NET extension is worthless.
The .NET extension is still useful in some cases.
You could use it if you offer internet services, networking services, hosting & email hosting services etc.
You might even want to use a .NET domain name if say your blog’s niche is “networking”.
Around 5% of all the websites are registered using the .NET domain extension.
Why You Might Be Tempted To Use .NET Rather Than .COM?
Lets take an example to discuss this.
Say, you want to start a website & you have selected an awesome domain name for your website, but it’s not available with a .COM extension.
So what would you do?
You might be tempted to get a .NET extension instead.
After .COM, the .NET extension is engraved in people’s mind.
If you have understood the important difference between domain extensions COM and NET, you can choose your extension easily while getting hosting from providers like Bluehost or SiteGround.
Which Extension is Better for SEO?
SEO is one of the most important things to consider, while choosing an extension for your website.
Naturally, one thing comes to mind, which extension between .COM & .NET is better for the SEO of your website?
Honestly, the important difference between domain extensions COM and NET doesn’t make a difference for the SEO of your website. The internet will treat both the extensions .COM & .NET equal.
Just follow the best SEO practices for your website over all.
As discussed in the previous paragraph, cheaphosting.com or cheaphosting.net will be better for SEO purposes compared to hosting.com or hosting.net as it contains the keyword cheap which people are most likely to search for.
Conclusion
In today’s times, it has become extremely difficult to get a desired domain name with a .COM extension.
If you face a similar situation then you can definitely go with a .NET extension as its the most popular domain extension after .COM.