So in case you missed the memo, Google is the proud owner of a new domain extension – .DEV. The new TLD comes out in January and many are expecting it to provide some pretty serious competition for .IO which has been without a doubt the most popular domain extension in the dev community next to .COM.
So what’s the big deal with .DEV? Here’s the skinny directly from Google:
“.dev is a secure domain for developers and technology. From tools to platforms, programming languages to blogs, .dev is a home for all the interesting things that you build.” (Source – Get.dev)
As many of you know, next to .COM, .IO has been a favorite of mine, and while I do like .DEV, I personally think that two character extensions are pretty darn neat, and .IO has a really solid base of dev-centric startups that have built amazing companies while branding around the extension.
That being said, I try to be realistic (when possible) and I do think that .DEV will chip away at .IO and will likely become a popular choice for developers.
So how can you get your hands on a .DEV domain?
There are two ways:
- If you have a trademark, you can register the corresponding .DEV domain during their sunrise period which kicks off on January 16th 2019
- Starting Feb 19th 2019 you’ll be able to register .DEV domains earlier, but at a higher price
- On Feb 28th .DEV goes into General Availability which means that anyone can buy one
What I always try to remind people when new domain extensions come out is that the very best names get scooped up before GA (General Availability). So if you want to get a killer .DEV domain you’ll likely need to be a Trademark holder or pony up for your top choice domains prior to GA on the 28th.
Will I be buying .DEV domains?
There’s a good chance I’ll buy 5 – 10 domains but I’m not setting my expectations high. I’m happy to spend $1k – $2k on names prior to GA if I can get them, and then I’ll buy a couple more that nobody got to on the 28th. My expectation is that I will never develop or sell them and they’ll end up being a big waste of money, but I’m willing to roll the dice.
As I’ve said time and time again, the only true investment-grade extension that’s ever worked for me is .COM, so when it comes to investing, that’s where I’m putting my focus. That being said, I think .DEV has potential to be a pretty popular extension so I’m happy to have a little skin in the game if it takes off.
But that’s me. Now I want to hear from you. Do you plan on buying any .DEV domains? I want to hear from you, comment and let your voice be heard!
