What .COM Means in a URL

The .COM at the end of some web addresses (such as lifewire.com) is called a top-level domain, or TLD. It's the most common generic top-level domain.

The .COM TLD means commercial, which just intends to convey the type of content that's being published. For example, it's different from other top-level domains that are meant for content much more specific like .MIL for US military or .EDU for education institutions.

Having a .COM URL doesn't have any special significance other than perception. When someone sees a .COM address, they immediately see it as a "serious" website because it's the most common TLD. However, it doesn't have any technical differences over a .ORG, .BIZ, .INFO, or any other generic top-level domain.

Note: COM is also an acronym for Component Object Model, a binary-based interface for software components, but it has nothing at all to do with the .COM TLD as described here.

Who Can Get a .COM Website?

Historically, top-level domains were used to categorize the few hundred web sites that were around at the inception of the World Wide Web. Addresses ending in .COM were meant for publishers that were trying to make some kind of profit through their services.

However, nowadays, having a .COM domain name does not mean your web site is a licensed business. In fact, the internet registration authorities have expanded their criteria to allow basically anyone to have a .COM address, whether they have a commercial intent or not.

Where Can I Buy a .COM Website?

Domain registrars are organizations that can reserve domain names. General registrars let you choose any available TLD when you buy the domain name. 

Here are some domain name registrars that let you buy a .COM website:

• Google Domains
• Namecheap
• GoDaddy
• 1&1
• Name.com

Other Top-Level Domains

There are other top-level domain names available to the general public like .ORG and .NET, which are used to denote non-profit organizations and network and computer topics, respectively.

Those TLDs, just like .COM, aren't limited to certain organizations or individuals - they're open for anyone to purchase.

Most of the TLDs mentioned on this page have three letters but there are also two-letter TLDs called country code top-level domains, or ccTLDs. Some examples include .FR for France, .RU for Russia, .US for the United States, and .BR for Brazil.

See What Is a Top-Level Domain? for a list of some others that are like .COM as well a TLDs that are "sponsored," which have certain restrictions (e.g. .JOBS, .MOBI, .INT).

Tip: To see a massive list of all the generic and country code TLDs, visit the Root Zone Database page on the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) website.