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Ask HN: Are .io domains still considered good for (web based) startups?

Just wondering if they are still considered a good choice or if they're "sooo 5 years ago"? They were all the rage a few years back, but how about nowadays?

LinuxBender 8y ago
I would diversify across several tld's and be ready to make use of any of them in your application by switching a properties file or database entry. Should there be a problem with a set of root servers, your SLA impact can be reduced. Even for my personal hobby sites, I always get at least 2 TLD's, sometimes 4+. That is just my own opinion based on my own experiences. There is also some factor of brand protection in this method. If you wait until your business is successful and fast growing, it is too late to go back and get all the TLD's for your brand. They will have been snatched up and you will have been too busy to remember this or notice until it is too late.
cjbprime 8y ago
There have been some frustrating and long outages of the DNS, causing hours of downtime. We switched our API endpoint from .io to .com because we can't afford that much downtime for no good reason.
spking 8y ago
I think so, depending a bit on your audience. When the .com you want is taken (almost always), going for the .io usually makes sense as it's now so commonplace (especially in tech-savvy circles). If you're trying to build a big direct to consumer brand, .io might not be the best choice.
- badrabbit 8y ago
  +1 .io is for a "techie" audience. .com still wins for a generic consumer audience.
  - notheguyouthink 8y ago
    I'd almost argue that for the techie crowd, .io is shiny, but any extension is welcome. Tech audience cares less about domaine ext I think. Where as I think my father would assume `legitsite.la` is a virus or something.
27182818284 8y ago
I think the novelty has worn off, yes. You won't get a bonus by it anymore, so ask yourself if it is worth the extra money and the potential stress of any DNS issues. I've owned them in the past and I wouldn't buy them again for a new thing.
icedchai 8y ago
They were never a good choice... When I see a startup with a .io, I always check the .com and almost always see their name was already taken by some other company. That's a pretty big hint: think of a better name.
- plessthanpt05 8y ago
  In my experience it's not that another company has the .com for what I'm looking for, but a squatter has parked it or a reseller is asking $100s or $1000s.
- notheguyouthink 8y ago
  Isn't this a limited time way of thinking? Ie, eventually all .com's with any meaningful variation of characters will be taken. It's a limited namespace, just like any. So won't users start becoming more and more accepting to the idea that foo.com is a blog startup, and foo.io is some niche tech stack? Though, that's ignoring potential legal conflicts, but those are already happening. Again, a constant.
quickthrower2 8y ago
If your audience is the British Indian Ocean Territory, why not?
ecesena 8y ago
If you can, just stay with a .com. You're just looking for more headaches down your road to success.
timdavila 8y ago
As others have said, .com is king. But since it's very difficult to obtain a good name in .com these days, a good alternative is .app which was just released so there's plenty of good names at reasonable prices.
- plessthanpt05 8y ago
  What if you don't plan on releasing an app, but just want a web presence for your startup -- is .app a good idea in this case?
segmondy 8y ago
They were never a good choice.

Just wondering if they are still considered a good choice or if they're "sooo 5 years ago"? They were all the rage a few years back, but how about nowadays?

LinuxBender 8y ago

I would diversify across several tld's and be ready to make use of any of them in your application by switching a properties file or database entry. Should there be a problem with a set of root servers, your SLA impact can be reduced. Even for my personal hobby sites, I always get at least 2 TLD's, sometimes 4+. That is just my own opinion based on my own experiences. There is also some factor of brand protection in this method. If you wait until your business is successful and fast growing, it is too late to go back and get all the TLD's for your brand. They will have been snatched up and you will have been too busy to remember this or notice until it is too late.

cjbprime 8y ago

There have been some frustrating and long outages of the DNS, causing hours of downtime. We switched our API endpoint from .io to .com because we can't afford that much downtime for no good reason.

spking 8y ago

I think so, depending a bit on your audience. When the .com you want is taken (almost always), going for the .io usually makes sense as it's now so commonplace (especially in tech-savvy circles). If you're trying to build a big direct to consumer brand, .io might not be the best choice.

badrabbit 8y ago
+1 .io is for a "techie" audience. .com still wins for a generic consumer audience.
- notheguyouthink 8y ago
  I'd almost argue that for the techie crowd, .io is shiny, but any extension is welcome. Tech audience cares less about domaine ext I think. Where as I think my father would assume `legitsite.la` is a virus or something.

27182818284 8y ago

I think the novelty has worn off, yes. You won't get a bonus by it anymore, so ask yourself if it is worth the extra money and the potential stress of any DNS issues. I've owned them in the past and I wouldn't buy them again for a new thing.

icedchai 8y ago

They were never a good choice... When I see a startup with a .io, I always check the .com and almost always see their name was already taken by some other company. That's a pretty big hint: think of a better name.

plessthanpt05 8y ago
In my experience it's not that another company has the .com for what I'm looking for, but a squatter has parked it or a reseller is asking $100s or $1000s.
notheguyouthink 8y ago
Isn't this a limited time way of thinking? Ie, eventually all .com's with any meaningful variation of characters will be taken. It's a limited namespace, just like any. So won't users start becoming more and more accepting to the idea that foo.com is a blog startup, and foo.io is some niche tech stack? Though, that's ignoring potential legal conflicts, but those are already happening. Again, a constant.

quickthrower2 8y ago

If your audience is the British Indian Ocean Territory, why not?

ecesena 8y ago

If you can, just stay with a .com. You're just looking for more headaches down your road to success.

timdavila 8y ago

As others have said, .com is king. But since it's very difficult to obtain a good name in .com these days, a good alternative is .app which was just released so there's plenty of good names at reasonable prices.

plessthanpt05 8y ago
What if you don't plan on releasing an app, but just want a web presence for your startup -- is .app a good idea in this case?

segmondy 8y ago

They were never a good choice.