The choice between nl and com domains
When you start your business, it is sometimes difficult to get a clear idea of which domain name is best to choose. With this choice you determine the market and the trend of the website, so you should think about it carefully. In this blog post, we will discuss all the pros and cons. And how you can find the right domain name for your business!
A domain name can be of great importance to your business, because it is part of almost every promotion you want to make. And every listing that your business has. Both on Google Maps, in Google search results, and in other listings your business may have. The main purpose of a domain name is to make your website available on the internet with an easy to remember name. It is not a string of numbers in the form of an IP address. A domain name is a protected object that can be purchased from a party like MijnHostingPartner.nl, who will then broker it for you with the organization behind it. For .nl, this is SIDN, which manages all .nl domains. For .com, this is ICANN.
Once a domain name is registered by someone, it's gone. It cannot be registered by another person for at least one year. It either has to be bought out, or it has to be adjudicated. This, of course, can be a costly affair with either method. Therefore, it is often important to hurry with domain name registration, and it is often easy to secure the domain name for a longer period of time.
What can you do with a .nl domain name?
A .nl domain name is your path to a business in the Netherlands for a Dutch-speaking audience. The Dutch domain name extension has been around since one of the first country extensions and is therefore a staple in the Dutch market. With almost 6 million domains, .nl stands for trust and familiarity in the Dutch market. This makes it the first choice for anyone looking to gain a foothold in the Netherlands. And so many Dutch businesses start with .nl.
For which target group is a .nl domain suitable?
With a .nl domain name you can reach a Dutch audience, the content is in most cases also in Dutch. But of course this can vary, as we are a diverse country. A .nl domain name is recognized by every Dutch person and is often considered a standard domain name extension. More and more special domain name extensions are added, like .amsterdam and .store. But with these domain name extensions, you often have a smaller market and also a smaller scope of what can be placed on the website.
A .nl domain name can be used for any website, from your adventure blog to your startup business.
What can you do with a .com domain?
A .com domain is the first choice if you want to offer your services to an international market, whether it is a product, a service or your information. A .com domain is recognized worldwide and can be used for websites focused in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, etc. Wherever English is used as the primary language, the .com domain name also has some recognition.
Which market is suitable for a .com domain?
The market for .com is therefore larger than that for .nl, but it is also losing focus. The same recognition in a country as you have with .nl in the Netherlands. Is not the same as .com. So if your company already operates or wants to operate in countries other than the Netherlands. Then the choice often falls on .com.
Your choice for your company
It depends on where you operate and which audience you want to target with your website. You can also register both domains so that you can use both. However, this is then often a duplication of effort, as you will need to maintain both the Dutch and English language content as well as the websites themselves. Many companies that grow this way do so later. To be able to focus on a smaller market first.
Whatever you decide, take the first step to creating your website by choosing a domain name. Enter the domain name into the configurator on the homepage to register your domain name and package. Then you can get started right away!
