If you think end-users won’t accept .IO you missed it…it already happened

missed_the_boat

I wrote a post over the weekend about .IO domains and how one domain name broker said that it had become the new .COM for tech startups. While I don’t agree with that…I do think that .IO has become a very clearly accepted alternative to .COM. You can read more about my thoughts in my post from Saturday.

Today I wanted to talk about a comment that someone made on my blog that I thought was interesting:

Whoever is telling startup companies to use .io needs to stop.
End-users will never accept .io.
End-users will and do not trust .io websites and will not submit personal information on them.
Think about an end-user visiting an .io website, they will be like WTH is .io?!

First, I think it’s pretty ridiculous to think that are people out there trying to convince startups not to buy .COM and go with .IO instead. Come on…do you really think that’s what’s happening anonymous commentator?

The reality is that a lot of startups would love the .COM but when it’s more expensive than what they can afford, they go with something different, and .IO has become one of, if not the, top alternatives.

As for saying that end-users will never accept .IO…I think that’s pretty ridiculous considering that companies like Keen.io have raised close to $30M and continue to brand and build a nice high-growth startup on a .IO name.

Apiary.io raised over $14M while sticking with a .IO domain and ended up getting acquired by Oracle, Import.io has raised over $22M in funding, and the list goes on. I think it’s safe to say that end-users have no problems accepting or trusting .IO websites, and they definitely don’t have any problem submitting personal information on them.

I think the reality is that for some reason there are domain name investors out there that see the success of anything except .COM as a threat. Instead I think it’s fair to say, yes .COM is king and will likely always be king, it will command the highest prices and have the most advantages associated with it.

That being said, it doesn’t mean that if you don’t build your company on .COM you’ll never be successful. It’s time to think bigger, and yes, some day, for some companies that brand on a non .COM, moving to the .COM will make a big difference. Still, it’s 2017 folks and it’s time to realize that there are businesses raises tens of millions of dollars building on non .COM domains and they’re doing just fine.

Morgan Linton

Morgan Linton