When I was recently setting up a new e-commerce website on Shopify, I found myself facing a familiar dilemma that all to many run into.
The .com domain name I want is already taken, but the .store? It’s wide open. In fact, I was able to register TheMagic.store for just $1 for the first year (reads as “the magic store”).
So which extension is best? Let me break down .com vs .store to help you decide which domain extension is best.
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The .com is the legacy extension of the internet
The .com by far is the most popular domain extension, and it’s the one I suggest you get if you’re launching an online store, blog, or website.
You’re always going to be happy with a .com, whereas having an alternative domain extension, sometimes you’re going to be wishing that you had the .com like I did when I had a .co for my niche website on online teaching and ESL.
But here’s the reality, it’s usually not possible to get the .com you actually want so that’s where the usefulness of a .store extension comes in.
Why the .store exists
The .store extension was launched in 2016 primarily to give people more flexibility with getting the domain name that they actually want for what they’re doing online. Let’s be honest, a .store is actually a really good domain extension with several specific benefits that make it particularly attractive for e-commerce businesses.
Clear and Specific Branding
The first major advantage is that it’s just clear and specific what your website is about. You’re starting an online store, so if you’re building something with Shopify or another ecommerce platform, .store is a great domain extension.
When people notice a .store domain, they immediately understand what they’re getting into, it’s going to be an e-commerce website where they can buy something.
Think of it like Patreon. We all know that Patreon is a subscription membership offer so when people navigate to your Patreon page, they know that it’s going to be signing up for a subscription from you.
The .store works the same way in that it’s clear and specific.
Open registration and creative flexibility
The .store has open registration, which means anyone can get a .store domain. Whether you’re an individual or a company. This makes it great for branding purposes because you can play around with a .store domain extension in a way that you can’t with a .com.
For example, you could have something like “mysuperamazing.store” and it reads as “my super amazing store.” That’s a fun, playful thing that you can do with a .store domain extension that you simply can’t do with a .com.
On top of that, you can typically get the domain name that you actually want with a .store extension instead of settling on some wordy .com you’re not happy with.
Growing Trust and Adoption
The .store extension is growing in popularity and is being used by a lot of different creators and brands. Currently, it ranks in the top 5 most popular top level domain names.
Personally, if I was starting an e-commerce website with my personal brand where I’d be selling t-shirts, mugs, or other products, I would be more tempted to register a .store extension on Shopify than going with a .com, especially if I could get exactly the name I wanted.
Some creators and brands using the .store extension:
- MrBeast.store – The most popular YouTuber in the world. This is his merchandise store.
- Pewdiepie.store – The official merch store for YouTube star PewDiePie.
- Emirates.store – The official online shop for Emirates Airline merch
SEO for .com vs .store
Is .store good for SEO?
This is probably the most common question I get because people are worried about registering a .store domain because maybe it’s not going to perform as well as a .com in search engines.
Both .com and .store extensions are considered top-level domain extensions, which means they’re treated exactly the same by Google and other search engines.
If you’re going to push me on this, I would say that perhaops if a .store and a .com had the same exact link profile (impossible), I’d probably give a slight edge to the .com to maybe perform a little bit better.
But again, they’re both top-level domain extensions and will be treated the same.
The Content Marketing Consideration
If we want to get a little bit more technical for content marketing and blogging then having a .com would most likely perform better for that purpose. Meaning you have a .com website that has both a blog and an online store built in.
As for the .store, it’s not really ideal for content marketing. It would be weird if your blog post was found at example.store/post-title. Instead, the .store is more optimal for strictly online stores.
Why people choose .store over .com
The simple reason people register a .store domain over a .com is because they can’t get the .com they want. But like I just explained, the .store is a great domain if you’re strictly building out an online store, like what Mr Beast has done with MrBeast.store.
ALso with a .store domain, you’re able to get a shorter word combination of one to two words which is much better for branding and marketing purposes.
Do people actually care?
No, no one cares if your store is a .com or a .store.
Both are professional and the .store is great for branding purposes as it’s trustworthy, lots of brands use it, and it’s growing in popularity.
Just look at Stan.store, it’s a multimillion dollar ecommerce platform. No one cares that it’s on a .store extension instead of a .com.
So in short, the .store domain extension is totally fine to use. Your end visitor is not going to care that much and in fact, because you’re using the .store extension, you can typically get a more branded, unique domain name that your end visitor is probably going to like and remember (instead of some long, wordy .com domain).
Pricing: How much do .com and .store domains cost?
Let’s talk about the financial aspect of .com versus .store domains, this is where there’s a significant difference that you need to understand.
.store pricing structure
A .store domain is going to cost you maybe a dollar or so to register at Namecheap initially. It’s very affordable upfront, but the renewal rates are quite high at over $30 per year.
At other registrar like GoDaddy, the renewal rate for a .store is over $70 a year.
The reason for this pricing structure is specifically to prevent domain investors from taking up all the .store domain extensions and causing the same problem that .com has, where you can’t get the .com that you actually want.
.com pricing structure
As for the price point for a .com, it’s still quite affordable where you can get a nice low discount rate upfront at a domain registrar like Namecheap or even a free for the first year with purchase of a shared hosting account from Bluehost or Hostinger.
The the renewal rate depending on where you got your domain name from will be anywhere from $15 to $20 a year.
Price sensitivity
The only people who are actually sensitive to domain name prices are domain investors.
Serious domainers can have 100+ .com domains. So they do care about the renewal rates for their domains. If each renewal cost $70 a year instead of $15, you can be sure that the resell prices of .com domains would skyrocket or the aftermarket for .com domains would dry up.
Avoid copyright infringement
Don’t infringe on the copyright of another business.
If someone’s using .com for their business, you can’t just go and register an alternative domain extension. For example, I can’t just go and register “MrBeast.co” and start using that domain extension.
When registering a .store extension as an alternative because you can’t get the .com you want, always check to make sure the .com is not in actual use.
If it is, I would look for a different brand name. You may be able to use an alternative extension like .store if what you’re building is in a totally different market from the .com version, but you’re opening yourself up to legal problems.
Is .store better than .com?
So here’s my final recommendation: if you can get the .com version of your desired domain name, and it makes sense for your business, go with .com. It’s the legacy extension, it’s what people expect, and you’ll never regret having it.
However, if the .com you want is unavailable or prohibitively expensive, .store is an excellent alternative for e-commerce businesses.
It’s clear, specific, growing in popularity, and allows you to create memorable, brandable domain names that might actually be better than settling for a long, awkward .com alternative.
The key is to think about your specific use case. Are you primarily running an e-commerce store or are you planning to do extensive content marketing and blogging? What’s your budget for domain registration and renewal? How important is having your exact preferred brand name versus settling for something available in .com?
Remember, your domain name is just one part of your overall online presence. A great .store domain with excellent branding, user experience, and marketing will always outperform a mediocre .com domain with poor execution.
Both .com and .store are legitimate, professional domain extensions that can serve your online business well. Choose the one that best fits your brand, budget, and long-term goals, and then focus on building something amazing on top of it.
Any questions or comments drop me a message via the contact page.
Namecheap
Low prices on domain names, low renewal rates, free WHOIS protection and good support.
Get your .com or .store today!
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