Just like any industry, the domain name business has a number of terms that may be completely impenetrable to outsiders. Here is a quick run down on some of the domain name jargon you may encounter.
TLD
TLD is short for ‘Top Level Domain’ – the final part of a web address. Common TLDs include .com, .net and .org. In most cases, when you are looking to buy a domain name, you will be dealing with a TLD. Some TLDs, such as .gov (for official government websites) and .mil (for military websites) are “sponsored” and cannot be registered by individuals or businesses.
ccTLD
Country Code Top Level Domains are website addresses tied to countries. Domain names that end .co.uk imply that the website is based in the UK, or owned by a British company for instance. Every country in the world has been issued its own ccTLD, making these the second most popular website addresses after .com.
gTLD
Generic Top Level Domains are not country specific and have been around for many years. ICANN who oversee domain name registrations have recently authorised the release of thousands of new gTLDs including .sexy, .hotel and .wine. You will occasionally see these new gTLDS called newgTLDs.
IDN
Internationalised Domain Names are designed to cater for languages that do not use the roman alphabet. Another new invention to accompany newgTLDs, IDNs allow businesses to create website addresses using Cyrillic, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and other ‘non-standard’ fonts.
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