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Because of the .ly TLD. Many companies employed a play on words to have a single-word domain for any word ending in -ly. Bit.ly is probably the most well-known.
by timdorr 11y ago
Because of the .ly TLD. Many companies employed a play on words to have a single-word domain for any word ending in -ly. Bit.ly is probably the most well-known.
The problem is that .ly is managed by Libya, and they tend to have restrictive laws and government practices that many people take issue with. So, many companies just got the -ly.com versions of their domains and made the switch.
- beambot 11y agoTo expand upon your comment.... those startups used something.ly domains when they were small and just starting out -- i.e. before they could afford to buy something-ly.com. Once they had traction and raised money, they purchased the proper domain. It's the same reason TheFacebook later dropped "The".