which extension?

[Caligo]

I am getting ready to purchase a domain name. I was wondering, which should I get, .com or .net, and why?

[aspnetguy]

It all boils down to what it will be used for and what you prefer..com is more popular and might be hard to get a name you want.I usually look for .net if I cannot find the .com I want.com will be the first extension anyone thinks of and chances are will try yourname.com first before seraching.

[boen_robot]

There are many different factors. For starters, price. If they are on the same price where you're getting your domain at, then that's out of the question. The more important part is how they sound. How memorable will the domain name be with a com or net. For example, I wouldn't remember the domain asp.com if the site is suppose to promote the .NET framework. The site asp.net is just perfect for that. On the other hand, people seem to remember some .com sites better then .net ones. So it really is about memory... what is the domain name you plan to register? It might help us to choose wiser.

[aspnetguy]

alot of companies that work with .Net framework or produce .Net apps and controls seem to be going for the .net extension. What you are using it for makes a big difference

[Caligo]

Well, I am trying to get into web design, so that is pretty much what I am going to be displaying.

[Skemcin]

as poeple are becoming more internet savy, the difference between .net, .org, and .com are going to shrink. however, it iwll consistantly be beleived that a .com site is of commercial nature, .org is on a non-profit nature, and .net is of network providers. Special requirements are needed to purchase and use .edu and .gov suffixes.in any case, you are likely to choose between .com and .net of which .com would be preferred and more applicable. the question, as its been stated, would be availability. domain name registrars have tools to help you select a domain name if you have trouble defining one.figuring out the name of your business would be the first step. that shuld consider things outside of web development in case you expand or change directions.my domain name, iribbit.net, has its pros and cons. On one hand you have no idea what I do by the name. On the other hand, I can do what ever I want - like when I am done with web development it could be the url for my race team.just be creative and get want you want. it will all come down to marketing anyway - and at the begining that will be business cards and word of mouth.

[justsomeguy]

It started as websites for for-profit companies and corporations, or sites designed to make money or be e-commerce sites, were supposed to use .com. .net was to be reserved for companies or organizations who administer the networks of the internet, things like domain registrars, ISPs, hosts, etc. .org were to be reserved for non-profit organizations. But as names got taken in one TLD, someone would just register it under another TLD, so they sort of lost their meaning. People seem to have an easier time remembering .com (only because they can't remember anything else), but it depends what sounds good to you. I registered one domain that is a .pro domain, but I'm not even sure if those are for sale any more. The website for the editor ConTEXT was registered in Christmas Island, so it uses the TLD .cx, which is similar to ConTEXT. It just depends what you want.

[Caligo]

For the domain name that I want .com isn't available so I was contemplating just going to .net, which seems as though it would be fine considering it is to show that I am a web designer, so a company in a round-about way. Plus, as was said, it all really comes down to marketing which I already have to do a lot of whether it is .com or .net. So I would say that .net would be fine.(Many thanks to those who commented)

[aspnetguy]

Again it depends on the circumstances.Lets say for example (all reality and legal stuff aside) I wanted to have a website microsoft.com (let's imagine real hard) but it is already taken but look microsoft.net is available I'll get that.Now you have your .net lets look a smoe possibilities.You are marketing and you tell people that your address is www.microsoft.net. 99% of people that you tell will not visit your site right away and will probably forget you until a time arises that they need your services.If they remeber that your website was microsoft dot soething...tehy will most like try .com.When they realise that possible can't be you (no offense...actually it could be a compliment) they will try a search. So they type in microsoft in Google and they get a billion results and you are probably number 999,999,957 on the list. They will never find you in a search because you will be overshadowed by microsoft.com.Just something to think about...it may not apply but someday it might.

[Caligo]

I agree with you completely, it makes perfect sense. Right now I am not worried about the .com overshadowing my soon to be .net thank you for bringing that to light though.

[Ovaire d'Oz]

Get both! If you can pay both get both, that's the best way to be sure. And if you can't get the .com, you need to advertise and add on your pages an "add to favorites" button.But don't forget that, unless it's for a rather large company, websites are found mostly using search engines (google being #1 of them), so do not forget to choose the right keywords... You can study the results on search engines with tools like Internet Business Promoter, it will compare for you the keywords you want to use with what already exists. It can be useful.