How domain extensions work, which ones Google treats differently, which have a spam problem, where renewal costs hide, and how to register the new .bd domains in Bangladesh.
Domains & Web
Last updated: October 2026.
You have the name. Now you have to choose what comes after the dot. The .com is taken, the .io costs more than you expected, a .xyz is on sale for $2, and somebody told you a .org would make you look more trustworthy. There are now well over a thousand extensions to choose from, and the registrar’s search page is happy to sell you all of them.
This guide explains how domain extensions actually work, which ones Google treats differently, which have a spam problem, and where the real costs hide, so you can choose with confidence. If you are in Bangladesh, we also cover the new .bd domains that opened to everyone in January 2026.
Short answer: Choose .com if your name is available at a normal price, because it is still the most familiar. Use a country extension such as .bd or .co.uk if you serve one country, .org or .ngo for a nonprofit, and a modern extension such as .xyz, .io or .dev for tech, creative and personal projects. The extension does not change your Google rankings, but renewal prices and spam reputation vary a lot, so check both before you buy.
A domain extension, or top-level domain (TLD), is the part after the last dot: the .com in example.com. Each extension is run by a registry, which sets the rules and the wholesale price. You buy the name from a registrar, such as Namecheap or Porkbun, which sells it on.
| Type | Examples | Who can register |
|---|---|---|
| Original generic | .com, .net, .org, .info | Anyone |
| Country code | .bd, .uk, .in, .de | Rules set by each country; some need local presence |
| Country codes used as generic | .io, .ai, .co, .me, .tv | Usually anyone |
| New generic | .xyz, .shop, .online, .dev, .app | Usually anyone |
| Restricted | .ngo, .bank, .edu | Only eligible organisations |
The domain market is huge. Verisign’s Domain Name Industry Brief counted about 401.6 million registered domains at the end of June 2026, with .com and .net together accounting for about 179 million of them. Among the newer extensions, .xyz, .top, .shop and .online are the largest.
Not directly. Google says its systems treat new extensions like .xyz the same way as .com and .org, and that keywords in the extension give no advantage. See Google’s guidance on new top-level domains.
Country extensions are the exception. Google’s guidance on multi-regional sites says a country extension is a strong signal that a site is aimed at that country. So a .bd site is treated as being for Bangladesh, which helps there but can limit you elsewhere. Google treats a list of country codes as generic because people use them worldwide, including .io, .ai, .co, .me and .tv.
One more nuance: in 2025, Google’s John Mueller repeated advice to be careful with very cheap extensions that are popular with spammers, because a new site on one may take longer to be seen as trustworthy. A real site with good content gets past this, but it is a reason to think about reputation as well as price.
| Extension | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| .com | Almost anything, especially businesses | Good names are taken; wholesale price rises on 1 November 2026 |
| .org | Nonprofits, communities, open projects | Open to anyone, so it proves nothing on its own |
| .net | Tech services, networks | Often seen as a second choice to .com |
| .xyz | Tech, crypto, creative and personal projects | Renewals far above the $2 first year; spam history |
| .io | Software and startups | Higher price; long-running questions about its future |
| .ai | AI products | Expensive, with a two-year minimum term |
| .dev, .app | Developer projects and apps | HTTPS is mandatory, which is good but needs set-up |
| .co, .me | Short brand names, personal sites | Easily confused with .com |
| .shop, .online, .site | Shops and small sites | Higher abuse rates; check renewal prices |
| .bd, .com.bd | Organisations serving Bangladesh | Needs Bangladeshi documents; country-targeted in Google |
| .ngo | Genuine nonprofits | Eligibility rules; less familiar to the public |
We look at some of these in more depth in is .xyz a good domain?, .io vs .ai vs .dev and .org vs .ngo vs .com for nonprofits.
Cheap extensions with no registration rules attract scammers as well as genuine users. Interisle Consulting’s Phishing Landscape 2025 found that new generic extensions held about 11% of the domain market but accounted for 51% of phishing domains, and noted that some risk-averse organisations block entire extensions as a result.
The fairest way to compare is the share of each extension’s domains that ends up on a blocklist. Spamhaus publishes the figures twice a year.
Reputation
Share of domains listed for abuse
Spamhaus listings as a share of each extension’s zone, October 2025 to March 2026
Calculated from listing counts and zone sizes in the Spamhaus Domain Reputation Update, October 2025 to March 2026. Some extensions are far worse: Spamhaus listed 17.5% of .cfd domains. It treats 5% as a red flag.
The takeaway is not that you must avoid every new extension. Even .xyz, with its history, now has a listing rate close to twice that of .com, not fifty times. But if your organisation depends on email reaching corporate inboxes, the most familiar extensions are the safest bet, and every domain needs SPF, DKIM and DMARC set up properly.
Registrars often sell the first year cheaply and make their money on renewals. A .xyz can cost $2 for the first year and $14 to $26 for every year after. New extensions have no price caps: a registry can raise prices with 180 days’ notice for renewals, and must charge everyone the same renewal price unless a higher one was disclosed when you bought the name. That is how premium names keep premium renewal prices.
Even .com is getting more expensive. Verisign is raising the .com wholesale price from $10.26 to $10.97 on 1 November 2026, and registrars usually pass this on. Renewing before that date locks in the current price for the years you pay for.
Common mistake: choosing a registrar by its first-year price. Always look up the renewal price before you buy, and check our ranking of the cheapest domain registrars by real renewal cost.
Bangladesh’s country domains are run by BTCL on behalf of the Posts and Telecommunications Division. Since 19 January 2026, anyone eligible can register a second-level .bd name such as yourname.bd, not just yourname.com.bd. According to BTCL’s official rate card, prices excluding VAT were:
| Name | Register (BDT a year) | Renew (BDT a year) |
|---|---|---|
| yourname.bd | 1,280 (discounted from 2,000) | 1,600 (discounted from 2,500) |
| yourname.com.bd, .org.bd and similar | 700 (discounted from 1,100) | 1,020 (discounted from 1,600) |
| Two-letter name, such as ab.bd | 55,000 | 65,000 |
| .বাংলা (Bangla script) | 400 | 400 |
BTCL describes the discounts as limited time. To register, you create a profile on BTCL’s domain portal, upload your national ID card and a supporting document such as a trade licence, RJSC certificate or approval letter, and pay by bKash, Nagad, Teletalk or ekPay. You can also go through an accredited reseller. A .bd domain is a good choice for organisations whose audience is mainly in Bangladesh, because Google treats it as targeting Bangladesh.
ICANN opened its first new application round in more than a decade in 2026. Between 30 April and 12 August 2026 it received more than 1,600 applications for new extensions, including hundreds of brand names, and revealed the list on 7 October 2026. Objection periods run into 2027, so do not expect most of these to be on sale before then.
.io is the country code for the British Indian Ocean Territory. When the UK and Mauritius signed a treaty in May 2025 to transfer the Chagos Islands, many startups worried their .io domains would disappear. In April 2026 the UK shelved the legislation needed to bring the treaty into force. Under ICANN’s rules, a country code is only retired if it is removed from the international country code list, and even then the default wind-down period is five years. For now, .io keeps working normally. We cover this in more detail in .io vs .ai vs .dev.
Decision guide
Which extension should you choose?
Start at the top. Stop at the first yes.
It is still the most familiar and the safest for email and trust. But a good name on another extension usually beats a long, awkward .com.
No. Google ranks new extensions like .com. Country codes are treated as targeting their country, unless Google lists them as generic, as it does for .io, .ai and .co.
In Spamhaus’s October 2025 to March 2026 data, extensions such as .cfd, .qpon, .icu and .bid had the highest share of domains listed for abuse. Familiar extensions such as .com, .org and most country codes have much lower rates.
BTCL’s process asks for a Bangladeshi national ID and a supporting document such as a trade licence, so it is designed for people and organisations in Bangladesh. Accredited resellers can help with the paperwork.
Only if your brand is valuable enough to protect. Each extra name adds a renewal bill every year, so most small organisations only need one.
Read our honest review of .xyz domains, find the lowest renewals in the cheapest domain registrars, and if you run a nonprofit, compare .org, .ngo and .com.
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