The top-level domain (TLD) named “.website” is a generic TLD (gTLD) in the Domain Name System (DNS) of the Internet. This specific TLD was proposed as part of the New gTLD Program of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the organization that oversees internet protocol addresses and domain names. The “.website” TLD was officially delegated on July 24 2014, operated by Radix, an internet domain registrar, and went live later in the year on November 26, 2014 (ICANN website, 2014).
In the hierarchy of Domain Name System, top-level domain represents the highest level. The “.website” TLD, as one of over a thousand new gTLDs, falls under the category of generic top-level domains – the largest group of TLDs which include familiar examples like “.com”, “.net” or “.org” (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, IANA).
The “.website” TLD unlike ccTLDs (Country-code Top Level Domains) such as “.uk”, “.fr”, or “.au”, is not restricted by geographical locations or specific types of organizations. This theme-neutral characteristic makes it applicable for virtually any website owners, whether businesses, non-profits, or individual users, to register their domain name with the “.website” ending. An example could be “mybusiness.website”.
One of the advantages of opting for the .website extension is that it provides a greater availability of names. Since the .com era has seen most common and desirable names taken, the newer extensions like .website give an opportunity for brands to get short and memorable names. A popular example is www.emirates.website which serves as an official blog for Emirate airlines providing information on their global activities (Emirates.Website).
However, using the “.website” TLD does not automatically lead to better visibility or higher ranking in search engine results. Google, for example, has stated that it treats new gTLDs as gTLDs no matter their meanings, and gTLDs are not advantageous over traditional ones such as “.com” in terms of search ranking (Google Webmaster Central Blog, 2015).
To summarize, the “.website” TLD is a generic TLD part of the new gTLDs approved by ICANN and it is managed by Radix. It is available for any type of organizations and individuals globally, providing a wider choice of domain names. Regardless, its influence on search engine ranking does not have an advantage over traditional gTLDs.
Sources:
ICANN Website, “Delegated Strings”. 2014.
Internet Assigned Numbers Authority.
Emirates.Website.
Google Webmaster Central Blog, “Google’s handling of new top level domains”. 2015.
