TLD = Top Level Domain = What comes after the dot = ‘com‘ in www.thiswebaddress.com
‘.com‘ is a gTLD, as are ‘.net’, ‘.org’, ‘.gov‘ and ‘.edu‘.
For example, all domain names that end in .com are part of the .com TLD. While the .com TLD was originally reserved for American businesses, that rule has not been enforced. The .org TLD was originally reserved for non-profit organizations, but again, the rule is not enforced. However, there are some TLDs that are reserved for specific uses. For example, .mil is reserved for the United States military, .edu is exclusively for use by educational institutions.
Soon there will be more of them, hundreds more. The introduction of New TLDs will result in a monumental and transformative shift in internet navigation, marketing and use. All web users and businesses should understand this change and the challenges and opportunities it will bring.
