.ng is the country-code Top Level Domain (cc-TLD) for Nigeria. In plain English, it is Nigeria’s domain name system that identifies websites related to Nigeria. It is currently available for registration only in the following variants, with most of them being restricted to Nigerian entities:
- com.ng – open domain, commercial entities and businesses
- org.ng – semi-open domain, non-commercial organizations
- gov.ng – governmental organizations
- edu.ng – degree awarding institutions
- net.ng – ISP infrastructure
- sch.ng – Secondary Schools
- name.ng – open domain
- mobi.ng – open domain, suitable for mobile devices
- biz.ng – open domain, suitable for all types of businesses
- mil.ng – closed domain (Nigerian Military Establishments only)
I threw this question open recently via Facebook, Twitter and Google Buzz: Would you use a .ng domain name for your website? Why? The responses were varied and interesting. Find a few of them below:
yes o! cause it makes it truly nigerian
No, won’t like to be associated with fraud.
I would use .ng, but I would not use .com.ng or .net.ng
Yeah, cause I be Omo Nija and I am Incredibly Proud
Not until I can use it without .com or .org in front of it.
Lotsa creative sites can come with that domain, bi.ng. weddi.ng etc
Possibly though I’ll be afraid Nigeria’s bad reputation would affect the traffic at my site
I am unable to name the respondents nor link to their respective comments since I did not plan to re-publish their comments and thus did not advise them earlier.
It is interesting that those who would use a .ng domain would do so out of pride in their national identity whilst those against .ng would stay away out of fear for the poor reputation Nigeria has over the Internet. Another angle are those who wish they could register .ng domains directly at the 2nd-level. Examples: lovi.ng, cari.ng etc.
It is time to open-up the debate and educate ourselves. Would YOU use a .ng domain name for YOUR website? If yes, why? If no, why not? Feel free to share your views in the comments area. If you are a blogger, feel to respond through your own blog post. Notify me and I would link to your blog post.
This post was originally published as Would you use a .ng domain name for your website? Why?
Because it’s interesti.ng
i thinks we should educate people on the advantage of having a .ng or anything relate to each country in particular because there are few dirrectory that will tell people about about content available in each country.
and look for a way to fight fraud online
.ng domain names do go for a pretty penny. ThisDay, one of Nigeria’s leading newspapers, launched a new website on their N7.5million ($50,000 USD) domain – thisday.ng
Loy Okezie wonders if the sale will make the .ng ccTLD popular in his At $50,000, Will The .ng ccTLD Become The Hottest Top-Level Domain? post.
Obviously only major companies can afford a .ng for $50K. I’m currently interested in one but all I can afford is with a prefix level.
But I came here hoping there’s a real answer to the actual benefits of having a ccTLD for a domain name. So far it seems it’s good for directory..
I was hoping search engines use it to sort relevant sites to user’s country. Anyone know if this is the case?