Back in 2006, I wrote an article titled; Domain names made simple, and it was about interesting facts about domain names. But what I’d like to discuss about today is the importance of owning a Top-Level Domain (TLD) domain. And, the most recognized TLD domain name today is the .COM suffix.
Although most countries today have their localized domain name suffix, it’s important to register and own the .COM suffix because it’s an internationally recognized signature. It’s the first thought which comes to the mind of anyone you’re sharing your website address with.
Here’s a classic example I found as Malaysia’s independence (Merdeka) day is coming round the corner on August 31. It’s in regards to the 1Malaysia campaign.
Unofficial 1Malaysia (.COM) website
Official 1Malaysia (.COM.MY) website
Clearly, there’s a miscommunication in online branding now and I’d say the .COM is borrowing the media awareness of the official campaign whenever someone doesn’t tpye in the correct website address.
The Malaysia web industry is still plagued by many fundamental mistakes made by personal, corporate and government agencies. Why are the corporate and government agencies facing such problems I dare not bring up as I know there’d be much to debate later.
But the fact remains, whenever possible you should always register your .COM suffix if it’s available.
Agree. People tend to put .com at web address first. Then try other suffix.