The .com top-level domain was (and still is) meant to be for US businesses only but has become synonymous with being the standard web address. In fact, many people have no idea other top-level domains even exist so don’t even consider organisations may use .org, or UK companies may use .uk.com. (One exception in the UK is .co.uk which maintains its profile but no-one thinks it’s for UK businesses only). Plus, many people assume that “www.” must always be in front of the domain name too. Could this be putting the future of the address bar and even domain names into jeopardy…?

Many web browsers will add “www.” and “.com” if you type in the middle part of the domain and then press CTRL + ENTER. It’s an incredibly useful shortcut but it demonstrates how expected “www.” and “.com” really are. The addition of further top-level domains makes little impact as most people registering new top-level domains are the ones who already own the .com anyway. Let’s face it, who wants .shop or .biz without the matching .com?

As a result, the middle part of the domain name is fast becoming the only unique part of a web address.

With many .com domain names already taken, suitable short-worded names are becoming more difficult to find. So, instead, sites are now simply descriptions of what they do. For example, I got asked today for suggestions of web sites that would have trailers of games. I suggested gametrailers.com. Now, at first, I got a “are-you-taking-the-piss” kind of look, but I was serious (and correct).

And they’re getting longer and more descriptive. Type in “goingtothemovies” (followed by CTRL + ENTER of course) and you get redirected to AMC Theatres web site. Looking for English Cottages? Then you’ll be unsrurprised to hear that typing “englishcottages” (then CTRL + ENTER ) covers just that.

As a result, I’m finding what I type into my Google search bar is becoming the same as what I type into the address bar - just with a few spaces between the words. Continue that evolution and how long it will be before the address box in our browser disappears and only the Google search box remains? I think that has to be the future; after all, domain names are only pseudonyms to help humans remember IP addresses anyway. With Google becoming practically omniscient about web content, a search is all you require to find the site you want. And without an address bar, would anyone even need a domain name?

Tags: domain names, domains, google