Should You Use A .shop Domain For Ecommerce?

A good domain name can help you boost brand recognition, build trust with customers, and improve your position in search results. But while the .com extension is a great option, its popularity can make it hard to secure your ideal domain.

The good news is that the .shop domain is an excellent alternative for ecommerce stores, online retailers, and dropshipping businesses. With it, you can make your site’s purpose immediately clear. That said, as a niche domain extension, it isn’t suitable for all website types.

In this post, we’ll take a closer look at the .shop domain. Then, we’ll discuss the main pros and cons of the extension before we show you how to register a domain. Let’s get started!

What Is the .shop Domain?

Every website needs a domain name so that visitors can easily find it online. Choosing the right domain is very important since it can boost brand recognition, establish credibility and trust with new customers, and make the purpose of your website instantly clear.

Most businesses prefer to use their brand name as the root domain. But, you’ll also need a domain extension (also called a top level domain or “TLD”) which forms the last part of the structure. Popular TLDs like .com or .co are particularly useful because they are globally recognizable.

However, it tends to be difficult to secure your desired domain name using the .com extension because many have already been snatched up. So instead of compromising on the root part of the domain, you can simply change the domain extension.

Although there are many new domain extensions to choose from, a .shop domain name can be a great option for online retailers, seasonal pop-up stores, ecommerce sites, dropshipping businesses, and more. Essentially, if you sell products or services online, .shop domains are worth considering.

Should You Use a .shop Domain? (Pros and Cons)

Now that you know a bit more about the .shop domain extension, let’s take a look at the main pros and cons to help you decide whether it’s a good fit for your business.

The Benefits of a .shop Domain

Although you may have hoped to purchase a .com domain name, the .shop domain extension can be a great alternative for an online business. For starters, it makes the purpose of your site immediately clear.

This is useful for customers that aren’t familiar with your brand. Plus, it can help you attract highly relevant web traffic, which might lead to more sales and conversions. And, since it closely aligns with online shopping activity, it can be more memorable to customers.

Additionally, it can make search engine indexing more efficient since you’re essentially telling bots that you’re running an online store. As such, you can score higher search rankings and gain more visibility in results pages.

What’s more, like the .com domain, .shop domain names are universally understood which explains why big brands like Netflix are using it:

This means that you can appeal to users all over the world. For example, consider the .biz domain extension. While this works in a similar way, it doesn’t hold the same level of global recognition.

And, looking at the Netflix example above, a .shop domain name can work well as a subdomain to distinguish your online store from your main content. Naturally, Netflix is a streaming site first and foremost, but customers can purchase goods at netflix.shop.

Finally, the .shop extension offers much greater domain availability compared to in-demand alternatives like .com or .net. This means that you’re more likely to find your perfect domain name. Otherwise, you might have to choose a root domain that doesn’t match your business name.

The Drawbacks of a .shop Domain

While a .shop domain name can make a great choice for ecommerce sites and online stores, there are some limitations to consider before you register a new domain name. First up, the .shop domain extension was only introduced in 2016.

In terms of the internet, that’s a really short amount of time. This means that there might be many people that are still unfamiliar with these kind of domains. This is especially relevant for emerging brands or startups that might find it difficult to build trust with new customers.

Additionally, since it’s such a niche domain extension, it isn’t suitable for many types of websites. Naturally, it works well for a fully-fledged online store. But, it’s doesn’t necessarily work for every platform that’s selling products.

For example, membership websites typically provide a range of subscription plans in exchange for monthly payments. However, the .shop domain extension clearly defines a site more like a virtual brick and mortar store. Therefore, it doesn’t really work unless you’re selling physical goods.

Furthermore, some people may make the assumption that all legitimate websites end in .com. This means that there is potential to miss out on traffic in situations where users automatically add .com to your brand name. Plus, there’s the fact that it can be challenging to establish trust and credibility with lesser-known extensions.

How to Register a .shop Domain

If you’ve decided that a .shop domain name makes sense for your business, let’s take a look at how to register it. First though, it’s important to consider some key factors to obtain a high-quality domain.

For example, it’s best to keep domains short and easy to type/say. This way, you reduce the chance of spelling mistakes or pronunciation errors. Plus, you’ll want it to be memorable and include relevant keywords that can help you capture organic traffic from search results.

Once you’ve come up with some ideas, you can check domain availability using NameHero’s free domain search tool:

Here, you can filter the results by industry. You can also expand your search to include premium domains that have already been claimed.

Then, make your selection by adding the domain to the cart. (Note that if you don’t yet have a website yet, some NameHero hosting packages offer free domain registration, which can help keep costs low.)

After that, visit the cart page where you can add a range of domain options to your order. This includes DNS management, ID protection, and email forwarding. Domain privacy protection is important if you don’t want people to access your personal information online:

Once you’ve selected your add-ons, you can set your nameservers and enter your payment details to complete the transaction. At that point, you’ll receive a confirmation email. And, you’ll get access to NameHero’s dedicated client area where you can manage domains and hosting all from one place.

Conclusion

Every website needs a domain name so that visitors can access it. While there are plenty of recognizable domain extensions like .com and .net, these options often lack availability. Therefore, the .shop TLD is a great alternative. 

That said, .shop only works for certain types of websites like ecommerce stores and online retailers. It’s worth noting that using it might make it more difficult to build trust with people that don’t know your brand. However, the extension holds global appeal and it can be good for your search engine rankings.

At NameHero, you can see if your ideal domain name is available using the free search tool. Then, it’s easy to register your domain and add extras like privacy protection and DNS management. Get started today!