The Different Types of Domains for a Website

When launching an online business, there are essential steps to take for success. You need a website, and therefore, a domain name and a web host (web hosting and DNS zone). These three components allow you to build or publish a site online and begin to gain visibility.

In our article today, we will focus on one of these three points. We will examine the case of domains. We will present the different types of domains that exist and which are the most suitable based on your business activity.

1. Top-Level Domains: TLD

1.1 Generic Top-Level Domains: gTLDs

A generic top-level domain or gTLD serves the purpose of indicating the type of website you are visiting. Domains are managed by IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority) and by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). A top-level domain forms the last level of each qualified domain name.

There are two types of gTLDs:

First, there are gTLDs reserved for public institutions (government, military, nonprofit organizations, or educational institutions). Among these generic top-level domains, we can find .gov, .edu, .mil, etc.

Secondly, we have other domains centralized by IANA. These include .com, .net, .info, etc.

This type of domain, this domain extension, is useful for reaching an international audience.

1.2 Country-Code Top-Level Domains: ccTLDs

The ccTLDs are domains used on websites that belong to a specific country (or geographical region). They are recognized by the two letters associated with the country of origin of the website. These domains are widely used to grow a business in a target country. Indeed, from an SEO perspective, these domains offer better visibility in the specific country.

There are many geographical / country-specific domains. Among the most common, we find the following:

France: .fr

Germany: .de

United Kingdom: .uk

Spain: .es

Canada: .ca

Italy: .it

Switzerland: .ch

Find the complete list of ccTLDs!

Fun Fact: Some ccTLDs are repurposed and used for specific sectors. For example, .tv (from Tuvalu) is utilized by audiovisual websites.

1.3 Internationalized Top-Level Domains: IDN ccTLDs

Similar to ccTLDs, internationalized domains represent a particular geographical area. However, IDN ccTLDs are variants of ccTLDs. In fact, they are the same geographical domains but contain characters not belonging to the Latin alphabet. For example, for Egypt, the ccTLD is .eg and in Arabic, it is .مص

These domains are often used for specific target audiences in particular countries, aiming to communicate effectively with businesses in those specific regions. They can be valuable in an international strategy.

2. Second-Level Domains: SLD

Second-level domains, or SLDs, refer to the domain name that comes before the top-level domain or TLD. For example, the TLD of Digidop.fr is .fr, and its SLD is digidop.

It is also possible to use second-level domains with a top-level domain to indicate the type of entity that needs to be registered under the SLD. For instance, a French commercial company can register with a .co.fr domain.

3. Third-Level Domains

Third-level domains also exist. In fact, just like the second-level domain is positioned before the top-level domain, the third-level domain is the one that comes before the SLD.

To take an example: let's say we have a ccSLD of .co.fr. If we want to register the domain name digidop.co.fr, then "digidop" will be considered a third-level domain. Once again, this is the place where you can put the name of your business. This type of domain is, however, less commonly used.

4. Subdomains

Aside from TLDs, SLDs, or third-level domains, there are also subdomains. As the name suggests, these are subsets of the various types of domains.

Subdomains can be easily identified as they are created by adding characters before the domain name. For example, https://blog.digidop.fr could be a subdomain. They are useful because they allow you to organize the content of your website into different sections. However, it should be noted that from an SEO perspective, a subdomain is considered somewhat “separate” from your main domain name. Thus, your website may not fully benefit from the popularity of your subdomain.

These domains are fundamental to international SEO strategies. In any case, when choosing your domain name, it should not be done lightly, and you should think long term.