Presently, there is no top-level domain (TLD) labeled “.lifestyle” in existence. A Top-Level Domain (TLD) is one of the domains at the highest level in the hierarchical Domain Name System (DNS) of the internet. According to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), TLDs can be generic (.com, .net, .edu, etc.), country-code (.us, .uk, .au, etc.), infrastructure and specialty or community-related domains which can reflect a theme or certain professional community.
The life and style domain, in theory, would be a perfect platform for websites that fall into the category of personal style, health, travel, food, home, wellness, and more. As for how it could be used, websites might use this hypothetical TLD to attract visitors looking for lifestyle-centric content. For instance, a fitness blogger might have a site at “fitnessblogger.lifestyle” or a vegan recipe site might stake a claim at “veganrecipes.lifestyle”.
However, as of 2021, “.lifestyle” is not listed as an available generic TLD by ICANN. It currently lists 1,508 delegated (made available) generic TLDs and “.lifestyle” is not included (ICANN). The most recent TLD application round was in 2012 when ICANN received 1,930 applications. However, as of the time of this narration, “.lifestyle” was not one of them (ICANN).
Public Interest Registry (PIR – the company behind the .ORG TLD), for instance, has advocated for the creation of industry-specific or community-focused TLDs as they can potentially provide a more focused user experience and improved relevance in search results. This is already happening to some extent, with TLDs such as .tech, .music, .movie and others being more industry-specific.
Nonetheless, the creation and delegation of a new TLD isn’t a simple process. It involves rigorous technical, financial, and operational criteria set by ICANN and includes a comment and objection period for stakeholders to raise issues related to the proposed TLD.
Sources used:
1. ICANN. (n.d.). Generic top-level domains (GTLDs). Retrieved from: https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/gtlds-2012-02-25-en
1. ICANN. (n.d.). New GTLD current application status. Retrieved from: https://newgtlds.icann.org/en/program-status/application-results
1. Public Interest Registry (PIR). (n.d.). About the new domain extensions. Retrieved from: https://thenew.org/org-people/about-the-new-domain-extensions/
1. ICANN. (n.d.). TLD application process overview. Retrieved from: https://newgtlds.icann.org/en/applicants/global-support/faqs/faqs-en
1. ICANN. (n.d.). List of delegated GTLDs. Retrieved from: https://newgtlds.icann.org/en/program-status/delegated-strings
