Top Level Domain

TL;DR

A Top Level Domain is the part of a domain that comes after the final dot.

About Top Level Domain

The Top Level Domain represents the couple of letters that can be found after the final dot of a web address. The acronym for Top Level Domain is TLD. A Top Level Domain can help users recognize the website associated with the web address, the location of the company, or the purpose of the organization.

Types of Top Level Domain

Top Level Domain is classified into a few categories. 

The first one is Generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) and it includes all domains that are not associated with a country (for example: .com, .org, .net). 

The second type is Country-Code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) and it contains all domains that are identified with a geographical location (for example: .de, .dk, .nl). Internationalized country code top-level domains (IDN ccTLD) represent a subcategory of ccTLD and refer to non-Latin character sets. 

Another type is the Sponsored Top Level Domain. These domains are developed and funded by private agencies or associations which set and implement rules that limit eligibility to use the TLD.

The Infrastructure Top Level Domain represents another category of Top Level Domains (with one domain: the Address and Routing Parameter Area). It is managed by Internet Assigned Numbers Authority on behalf of the Internet Engineering Task Force.

Another category used when we talk about Top Level Domain is Test Top Level Domains (tTLD). These domains were installed under .test for testing purposes in the Internationalized Domain Name development process.

How can a Top Level Domain be registered? 

In order to register a domain name with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), it must be done so through a registrar, such as Domain.com. First, you should check if the domain name and domain extension are available through a domain search. 

Second, information needs to be submitted when registering. The information is represented by the domain name, the top-level domain extension, contact info and billing info.