The year 2020 proved to be a landmark year for domain registrations, driven in large part by the global pandemic pushing more people and businesses online than ever before.
With nearly every short, easily-spelled .com already taken, registrants increasingly turned to newer gTLDs and classic ccTLDs to establish their online presence. That said, .com remained the undisputed king. In 2020 it jumped from 37% of all registrations in 2019 to 48%, representing over 3 million domains registered in just one year.
Beyond .com, .xyz held firm as the second most popular gTLD, while .club, .site, and .net all made significant moves up the rankings. .info, which had been a top-three fixture for over a decade, dropped down in rankings.
On the country-code side, .co emerged as the most registered ccTLD among Namecheap customers with over 105,000 registrations, valued for its brevity and association with "company."
Meanwhile, tech-oriented extensions like .io and .ai continued to grow in popularity among startups and developers.
High registration numbers don't always translate to long-term value. While .ca led all TLDs with a 72.5% renewal rate (indicating strong owner satisfaction) several of the most-registered extensions fared poorly when it came to renewal rates.
Despite being one of the year's top 20 gTLDs, .icu saw a renewal rate of just 1.86%, and the massively popular .xyz renewed at only 9.59%, suggesting many registrations were speculative or experimental rather than tied to active projects. In the case of .xyz in particular, it may also point to frequent discounts on first-year pricing.
A notable trend in 2020 was the growing appetite for niche, industry-specific TLDs. Businesses increasingly reached for extensions that spoke directly to their sector. Ecommerce in particular seemed to favour .store and .shop, while .io and .dev rose to the surface in the tech sector. .agency and .ltd were favored for professional services. Meanwhile, .casa and .house performed well in the real estate sector.
This signaled a maturing domain market where the extension itself is becoming part of a brand's identity, not just a web address.
Check out Namecheap's entire report for unique insights into the domain registration market in 2020.
Check other Namecheap Domain Trends Reports from 2023, 2024 and 2025 to see how the domain industry evolved over the years.
Yes, .com remains the dominant choice by a wide margin. In 2020, it accounted for 48% of all Namecheap registrations. While available short and memorable .com names continued to shrink, its recognition with consumers mean it isn't losing its crown anytime soon.
It depends on your needs. For general use, .xyz, .site, and .net were among 2020's most popular choices. Tech startups favor .io, .dev, and .app, while .co is a clean, professional-feeling option when .com isn't available. Industry-specific extensions like .store or .design are also worth considering.
Renewal rates a good indicator. In 2020, .ca, .io, .org, and .dev all renewed at above 65%, showing strong owner satisfaction. By contrast, heavily-promoted extensions like .icu and .xyz renewed at under 10%, suggesting many of those registrations were short-term or speculative.
Most people keep it simple. 50% of Namecheap customers own just one domain, and 33% own between two and five. For most individuals and small businesses, one or two well-chosen domains is plenty. Domainers invest in more, speculatively.
Historically, October is the most popular month, followed by September and August. Your own business needs should drive the timing.
From trends and insights to finding marketplaces, here’s everything you need to know about reselling domains.
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