.NL is losing popularity due to the emergence of new extensions
New extensions .shop, .online and .fun grew in 2019
AMSTERDAM, 28 January 2020 - The growth in the number of domain names of the Dutch .nl extension is slowing down. Domain names of new extensions, such as .shop, .online and .fun, on the other hand, are emerging. This is apparent from the domain name research conducted by Hostnet.
.Nl growth has been declining since 2013
The growth spurt previously experienced by .nl has been declining since 2013. In that year the number of domain names increased by 5.3% (SIDN, 2019). Last year this was only 1.3%. Although more than the 0.7% in 2018, .nl no longer reaches the level of the past. "If you look at the number of .nl domain names in the last 8 years, you can clearly see that the growth is slowing down," said Bas Schouten, Product Manager Domain names at Hostnet.
New extensions are becoming increasingly popular
Domain names of new extensions, on the other hand, are becoming increasingly popular. In 2019 they grew together with 19.1%. To give an example: .shop increased by 3.9% compared to 2018 (Ntldstats, 2019). The .online extension even grew by 34.3%. The biggest winner is .fun with an increase of 212.8%.
The popularity of new extensions is partly due to the fact that (short) domain names with the traditional extensions, such as .nl and .com, are already taken. Schouten: "It is more likely that entrepreneurs with new extensions will register a domain name that is shorter, more relevant and more recognizable."
Vision for the future: New extensions continue to grow
The expectation is that new extensions will also perform well in 2020 and the years thereafter. Schouten: “The issuing authorities invest a lot of time and money in new extensions. For example, they offer a promotional price or advertise to generate brand awareness. Subsequently, you increasingly come across websites on the internet that have a domain name with a new extension. This makes them more common among the public. "
It is certain that the extensions that will be issued in the coming years will take over a large or small part of the market. In addition, Schouten expects that in the future together they will get an increasing market share. "I am curious how the traditional extensions deal with the threat of the new extensions," said Schouten.
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This is a submitted press release and is not the responsibility of the editors.
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