All About The .fun Top-Level Domain
- By Douglas Moore
- July 21, 2020
Are you looking for a new, creative domain extension for your website? More recent developments in internet history have allowed webmasters to opt for new gTLDs (generic top-level domains) that started entering the picture in 2014, as alternatives to the .com. One of these fresh additions to the domain pool that can help you reach niche audiences is the .fun top-level domain.
If you’re thinking about using the .fun gTLD for your website, we’ll help you brush up on everything you need to know about it – its history, who runs it, what it’s used for, and where you can get your very own .fun domain extension.
What Is .fun? When Did It Launch?
In 2013, the ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), a non-profit organization in charge of managing the global Domain Name System of the Internet, launched a campaign for introducing new gTLDs to the DNS. Until that point, the most popular gTLDs being used for all sorts of organizations were .com, .net, .org, and .info. Companies applied with new suggestions for domain extensions, which would help companies clarify their purpose, and help users find their niche more easily. gTLDs such as .church, .guru, and .fund entered the picture – and so did .fun.
The .fun domain extension proposal was accepted on January 14, 2016. It was launched to the public in 2017 after the domain changed the hands of a few owners.
The .fun domain is a gTLD, which means that a .fun website would appear in a Google search anywhere in the world. gTLDs, or generic top-level domains are a great choice for webmasters looking to reach out to a global audience. ccTLDs, on the other hand, such as .us or .uk, are used to reach local markets and target groups.
Who Administers the .fun Domain?
Although .fun was originally given to the Oriental Trading Company on January 14, 2016 (they had somehow outbid Google!), it was later sold to DotSpace, Inc, a.k.a. Radix on October 4 of the same year. They administer and operate the .fun gTLD today. While they had originally considered using .fun as a closed gTLD, and keeping all .fun domains for themselves, they’ve fortunately changed their minds and now the .fun domain is available to anyone.
Why Should You Register a .fun Domain? What Is It Used For?
The .fun gTLD is a great idea for entertainment websites that feature comedy content, games, jokes, puzzles, and so on. The administrating company aims at marketing the domain as one intended for fun for people and kids of all ages. Still, it seems like the possibilities with .fun are limitless.
You could use it for anything from a toy store website or a joke archive (though we don’t understand why anyone would archive 1990’s blonde jokes), all the way to an event planning service, and everything in between.
How Popular Is the .fun gTLD?
.fun accounts for 1.53% of all domains, with 529,997 .fun domains being used in 2020.
How Do You Get a .fun Domain?
The .fun domain is quite affordable, and it’s available from us here at Domain Name Sanity. Find your new .fun domain name today!
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