Andrey Insarov on the Future of the Domain Industry 

• Apr 12 2024
• by Andrey Insarov

The domain industry is constantly evolving with new extensions, emerging challenges, and changing trends. Understanding current trends allows businesses and individuals alike to approach the choice of a domain forearmed with the knowledge of how to choose the most suitable domain extension, determine the target audience, set strategies for development and promotion, create a competent marketing campaign, etc.

Earlier this year, DN Journal published The State of the Industry, its annual overview of the domain sector. To mark the 20th-anniversary issue, the editors conducted a comprehensive survey, soliciting opinions from dozens of industry leaders about the outcomes of the previous year and predictions for the year ahead.

I was honored to be among them, so I was able to talk about how we envision our journey in the domain industry, the company’s growth, our role, and our expectations for the future. 

I would like to elaborate a little more on what is ahead for the industry:

Growth of IT-Related Domain Names

By the end of 2023, there were almost 263,000 registered domains in the .ai zone, four times more than in 2022. This surge suggests a growing trend of popularity for IT-related domains among users. Another compelling example is a domain from the .online zone which secured the ninth spot in the ranking of domain sales over the past year, fetching a price of $400,000. Additionally, extensions such as .cloud, .computer, .dev, and .digital are among the popular choices associated with the IT industry.

Also, keywords related to technology are among the most desired in aftermarket sales, according to Afternic reports. 

Major deals happening in technology nTLDs (new Top-level domains)  such as .cloud, .online and .app signal a desire by tech companies to communicate their connection to the industry directly through their domain name.

In 2024, the demand for IT-related domains is expected to remain high. Our efforts are now aimed at meeting this demand. The .it.com extension is evolving to offer the growing IT community a wide range of domain names that can meet their needs and reflect their line of business or brand name.

A great example of how .it.com domains can be used in this way is code.it.com. This site gives users an opportunity to program directly in their browser window without downloading a compiler to their computer. The creators of code.it.com deployed the it.com extension to include a call to action, instantly convey the site’s purpose, and show its affiliation to the IT industry. 

New TLDs

New gTLDs (generic Top-level domains) are top-level domains issued by ICANN ( the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), starting in January 2014. These include extensions such as .ai, .online, .today, .news, etc.

Interest in nTLDs is growing every year and will continue to grow this year. This trend has continued since 2022, with quite a few .xyz domain name sales appearing in the top 100 sales.

This interest is because, in contrast to already known and proven extensions, nTLDs provide a large number of free names,, and also allow the brand’s focus to be reflected directly in the website’s web address. Although the price for some premium nTLD domains is now quite high, such as one in the .online extension which was the 9th most highly-priced domain sale of 2023,  which was bought for $400,000, overall, the cost of domains in nTLD extensions remains affordable.

This combination of affordable prices and a wide choice of meaningful names allows nTLDs to remain so attractive.

However, despite their rapid growth, new gTLDs still struggle with some issues, like ensuring that nTLDs work correctly in popular messaging applications such as WhatsApp.

CircleID mentioned the fact that many developers around the world are still ignoring the linkification of new gTLDs. The essence of the problem is that domains in the nTLD aren’t displayed as active links in messages, unlike domains in the .com zone.

At first glance, this problem isn’t crucial, but it causes inconvenience to many users and needs to be dealt with. Rami Schwartz, CEO of Latin American Telecom LLC, sent an open letter to the ICANN Board requesting a resolution of this problem.

However, if domain buyers are interested in a large selection of names, prices, brand affinity, and linkification, then you can always pay attention to other solutions that the domain market offers.

It’s important to it.com Domains that all domains work for all users, which is why we support the Universal Acceptance effort. This is one of the perks of the .it.com extension, as it’s based on the existing .com zone, including its trust and linkification.

Third-level Domains

Third-level domains are an important part of the domain space. However , there are still people in the industry who are on the fence about the application  of third-level domains. It’s important to demonstrate how businesses can use these extensions for their benefit and avoid any potential risks.

ICANN’s chosen method of increasing the number of TLDs (Top-level domains) is to release new domain extensions in several stages and this has its benefits. Unfortunately however, the growth in the number of nTLDs hasn’t been accompanied by a matching rise in quality. Fraudsters use some nTLDs for illegal activities such as spam and phishing. This misuse can undermine user trust and lead to domain zone purges. Not all nTLDs should be treated with caution or disregarded when considering a domain purchase. New TLD extensions can be attractive for business, with some already costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. However, exercise vigilance if you’re offered a domain extension that’s unusually cheap or even free.

Third-level domains, or subdomains, as they are also known, are especially valuable for small businesses that need a cost-effective domain name solution. Investing a lot of money in a second-level domain name isn’t always possible, but the name should still reflect the brand and be memorable.

This is also an option available to companies that can’t find their desired domain name in popular top-level domains such as .com. In this case, operators of third-level domain extensions such as .it.com provide a wider selection of names with the same advantages as the .com top-level domain, including high recognition, no territorial restrictions, and a non-specific business type. Additionally, we at it.com Domains protect the reputation of our domain zone and carefully ensure that domains in the .it.com extension are not used for illegal activities.

Past and Future of it.com Domains

Over the past months, we have focused on developing registrar channels and expanding the list of partners that offer our domains. Advancement in this area was one of our priorities and great progress has been made. This gives our clients the opportunity to purchase it.com domains in ways and on platforms that are convenient for them. We don’t plan to stop here, as we will continue to broaden the roster. Now we have plans to make our domains more accessible for the global IT community. 

What’s more, the upcoming months will be filled with various industry events and exciting developments for it.com Domains.

Keep an eye on our updates!

Want to hear more from the top industry experts? Visit it.com Domains’ blog and follow us on social media.

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