Understanding your website and each of its elements thoroughly is important. However, this domain is a bit tricky and there is so much confusion about so many things. For one, people often get confused between ccTLD and gTLD. If you are one of them, then read on to find out the key differences between ssTLC and gTLD.
An online business that sells thorough its website is majorly dependent on it. Therefore, it is important to make sure that everything about your website is perfect. From web design to CTA, domain name, and whatever that is there to a website, everything is important. How well-managed your website is goes on to determine the success of your digital marketing and everything you do on the internet.
My point is, the online presence of a business is majorly balanced on its website. This is why it is important to break down your website and understand every element thoroughly. By doing this, you will be able to optimized every element the best.
That being said, today we are going to explain something that is seldom talked about—ccTLD and gTLD.
But first, let’s understand what is…
What Is TLD (Top Level Domain)
In URLs or what you may call internet addresses, you must have seen that the dot is generally followed by “com”. You’d have noticed that in some cases, it is also “net”, “org”, “gov”, and much more. Well, these are some the examples of top level domain. It helps identify something about a website that can be associated with like its purpose, organization, or location. Each TLD has a separate registry managed by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
In this article, you are going to learn some key differences between two of its types.
ccTLD and gTLD—what is the difference?
#The basic difference
– ccTLD
ccTLD expands to ‘country code top level domain’. The top level domains that come under it are country specific. Every country has a specific TLD code. And since such domains are country specific, they are generally based on country codes itself. Below are some of the examples of ccTLD:
.fr (France)
.eu (European Union
.uk (United Kingdom)
.cn (China)
.in (India)
ccTLD is just two letters long. Every country has a separate ccTLD.
– gTLD
gTLD is short for ‘generic top level domain’. As the word ‘generic’ implies, unlike ccTLD, gTLD is not country specific. It is paired with different classes of organizations. Below are some of the examples of some gTLDs:
.com (commercial)
.net (network)
.pro (professional)
.biz (business)
.org (organization)
gTLD can be of/longer than 3 letters. There can be websites in different countries that use the same gTLD.
#Governing bodies
– ccTLD
Since a ccTLD is country specific, it is generally managed exclusively by the respective country itself. Countries having specific ccTLD have a domestic organization in charge of managing ccTLD.
– gTLD
Unlike ccTLD, there is no particular country-based organization for management of gTLD. It is maintained by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA)—an organization which doesn’t belong to any specific country or region.
#Registration
– ccTLD
Since ccTLD is generally exclusively managed by respective countries itself, you’ll have to register with the country’s organization in charge in order to get such TLDs. The registration usually involves a certain standard process as required by the organization. It varies from countries to countries. For domestic websites, the owners are required to submit residency proof. There are also countries that allow foreigners to register for their ccTLD. Here also, the registration process varies from country to country.
– gTLD
To get a gTLD, you don’t have to register with a country specific organization. Thus, you can register for it regardless whatever country your business originally comes from. Hence, you can register for it from anywhere over the worldwide web. Moreover, unlike ccTLD, there are no charges included. You can simply opt for generic top level domains like .co, .org, .info, .biz, and so on depending upon the nature of your website.
#Restrictions
– ccTLD
Such domains are aimed for particular countries and/or regions only. Hence, they have certain geographic and country designations. Many ccTLDs are restricted and closed. This implies that they can be registered for and owned by people within the country/region only. Their access is limited.
However, there are also some countries that encourage open market and hence allow outside organizations to register for their ccTLD. This explains why sometimes you find websites having ccTLD of a different country.
– gTLD
There are virtually no restrictions based on the country in which a website is made. A business from any country can use and register for gTLD. If your top level domain is a generic one, you can easily do digital marketing of such websites anywhere across the globe on the worldwide web. Hence, unlike ccTLD, there are not country/region based restrictions to use a gTLD.
Which one you should go for?
Which type of top level domain you should go for greatly depends on your target audience. If your target market is scattered around the globe, you should go for gTLD.
On the other hand, if your target market is concentrated in a specific country or a region, you should go from ccTLD of that specific country.
Final word
Understanding how ccTLD and gTLD works is crucial for businesses with an online presence. Your choice of top level domain is greatly dependent upon your target audience. Thus, it also plays a great role in determining your digital marketing. Apparently, for the same reason, it also plays a great role in determining the success of your search engine optimization. Thus, it is crucial to understand the difference between ccTLD and gTLD.
