Starting today, you can register a website with a never-before-available domain name. A total of seven so-called generic top-level domains (gTLDs) are now live, with another seven set to launch next week, and potentially hundreds more in the year to come.
The first new gTLDs are: .bike, .clothing, .guru, .holdings, .plumbing, .singles, and .ventures.They are run by gTLD registry Donuts Inc. (yes, Donuts). Next Wednesday, February 5, Donuts will launch another batch of seven gTLDs, which include .camera, .equipment, .estate, .gallery, .graphics, .lighting, and .photography. In total, Donuts has 105 gTLD contracts with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which authorizes the use of gTLDs. By the end of February, Donuts expects to have launched a total of 28 new gTLDs, with a batch of seven launching each week between today and February 26, with many more to follow over the months to come. (See the full list of Donuts’ gTLDs here).
“Starting this week, new, relevant and specific Internet naming options will be available on a scale never before seen,” Donuts co-founder and CEO Paul Stahura said in a statement. “This is a unique opportunity for businesses, brands, organizations, and individuals to find an online identity that speaks precisely to their products, services and interests.”
Prior to today’s gTLD expansion, ICANN had authorized the use of only 22 gTLDs (.com, .org, .net, etc.). By the end of 2014, the number could jump into the hundreds. In total, ICANN has 1,903 new gTLDs set to launch – but that includes gTLDs in many languages other than English, some of which have already gone live.
If you want to pre-register for any of the newly launched gTLDs, simply visit one of Donuts’ registrar partners, which are listed here.
(Image via Dmitry Kalinovsky/Shutterstock)