Can A Nonprofit Have A Com Domain

What Is A Org Domain Extension

A .org domain extension is a type of domain name that is registered and used primarily by non-profit organizations. This format gives your website a more professional appearance and can help to increase brand awareness. Additionally, it makes it easier for people who are interested in donating to your organization to do so through online mechanisms like donation buttons on your website or social media profiles.

A .org domain extension is a great way to increase the visibility and credibility of your website. By registering a .org domain, you can connect your site with the global nonprofit sector. This will give your website added credence and make it easier for potential donors to find you online. Additionally, having a registered .org domain gives you access to powerful marketing tools that can help promote your site and attract more visitors.

Registered domains also come with premium web hosting and email services that are tailored specifically for nonprofits, so be sure to take advantage of these benefits when setting up your new website.

When To Use Org

The .org domain extension stands for organization and is most commonly used for nonprofit organizations. Its also sometimes used for websites that arent necessarily for-profit but provide the public with free information and resources, like a public library.

You should consider a .org domain extension if your website is one of the following:

A nonprofit organization
A public education website providing information
An open-source software website

Org Vs Com Vs Net: What Do They Mean And Which Is Better

A website address is made up of two components. The first is the domain name, a unique element that connects your online address to your brands name and goals. The other one is the domain name extension, which reflects the type of website and its purpose. While many believe that understanding what is a domain name comes down to whats between the two dots of a URL, the few letters after the second dot play a much bigger role in determining the credibility of your site and how it aligns with your brand.

Also known as top-level domains , domain extensions are used to categorize websites by type, location or business model. Out of the thousands of domain extensions available on the web, the most common ones are .org, .com and .net. In order to choose which one is right for you, youll first need to learn what they stand for and understand their strengths, weaknesses, and differences.

Whats The Difference Between Org And Com

Short for .commercial, .com is generally used for the domain name of a for-profit business website. On the other hand, .org is short for .organization and is most often used by non-profit organizations. That said, both domain extensions are high-quality, equally memorable, and add credibility to the websites they represent.

Avoid Treating Subsidiaries As Instruments

The nonprofit and for-profit should have separate bookkeeping, meetings, tax returns and sign documents in their own corporate name.
The nonprofit has to control its subsidiaries through the power it has to vote for and remove directors. It also has the power to approve amendments.
The non-profit shouldn’t manage the daily operations of its subsidiary.
The directors of the nonprofit and the subsidiary can overlap but it’s best to have outside directors too.
Net earnings can be given to the nonprofit from the for-profit in the form of after-tax dividends. Any transactions between the two entities should be written and approved by the board of directors.
When you want to create a for-profit subsidiary as part of the nonprofit, the nonprofit is the majority shareholder and should be able to vote for the board of directors and remove them without reason, as well as approve amendments. The non-profit should contribute to the for-profit’s capital.

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Example Of A Nonprofit Owning A For

An art museum sells reproductions of paintings or a hospital sells disease-tracking technology, the projects go hand in hand with the mission. But too much profit can have the IRS knocking at your door. Creating a for-profit business avoids this problem. The nonprofit is also protected from legal liability and have investors take the business seriously as it’s not just a charity.

Most nonprofits set up as a C corporation to optimize their taxes. A nonprofit can become an owner of an LLC or go into a partnership. The parent nonprofit’s dividends are for the most part tax-free. The nonprofit has to be careful though in the way of handling this, as the IRS has held that if both the nonprofit and for-profit have the same directors then they are not separate.

Type Of Business Or Organization

Generally speaking, for-profit companies and stores should use .COM, and nonprofits and charities should use .ORG. Simple as that.

However, there are some exceptional cases. For example, software providers often use a .ORG if theyre open-source even if they accept donations or other revenue. Read on to the next section as we explore more of these cases in detail.

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Sell Your Domain Name

Stuff happens. Maybe inspiration struck at 3 a.m., when an amazing new domain name woke you from a dead sleep. And that other domain you already registered? It can still help you out.

You can get it in front of interested buyers via domain aftermarket sites that only take a small percentage of the sale.

One such aftermarket option is GoDaddy Auctions.

For an annual fee and a percentage of the sale, you can list your domain name for auction or set a buy now price and GoDaddy will handle all the details.

What Does Net Mean

The .net domain is the second most popular extension. Its often presented as the recommended alternative to .com when you try to buy a domain name that is already in use. Its estimated that around 4% of all global registered domains use this extension. The .net domain name extension stands for network and was originally meant to be used by umbrella websites acting as a portal for smaller sites.

You should use a .net extension for businesses that provides services like internet, website hosting, databases or collaboration tools. Another reason to use .net is when .com is not available. In this case, youll need to make sure that the business with your same domain name with a .com extension is not in the same industry, otherwise your audience might end up becoming their clients.

Whatever the reason is for you to use a .net domain extension, youll need to ensure that potential visitors remember it and dont end up on the wrong site. An effective way to achieve this is by integrating your sites TLD within your branding efforts, as your audience will end up naturally connecting your business name with .net. For example, a marketing consultant firm called Upstream may refer to themselves as Upstream.net to get their audience familiar with their correct domain extension.

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Best Domain Name Registrar Bluehost

Bluehost is a hosting provider and domain name registrar specializing in WordPress sites. Since WordPress is by far the most popular website builder for businesses of all shapes and sizes, this is a good thing.

At Bluehost, you can get a .com domain for $11.99 a year and a .org domain for $8.99. However, you actually dont even need to pay a thing, because you get a free domain whenever you sign up for a basic hosting plan. At $2.75 a month, its a steal of a deal.

Despite being a cheap entry-level plan, it comes with great features like one-click WordPress installs, multiple email accounts, and domain privacy and security. Bluehost servers are also super-fast and reliable, and the companys customer service is top-ranked as well.

Learn How To Transfer Your Domain To Another Hosting Provider

The first time you registered a domain name for your website, you had to go through either a domain name registrar or a hosting provider. But if, for whatever reason faster load times, smoother ease of use, cheaper renewal prices you want to move your domain name from one host to another, its completely possible! The only restriction is that youll have to wait at least 60 days after purchasing a domain before you can transfer it.

The process of transferring a domain is easy, but it takes some time. Thats because youll need to wait for both your current domain name registrar and the host youre switching to to authorize the domain name transfer.

Here are the steps broken down:

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Whats The Difference Between Org Vs Com Vs Net

Compare .org vs .com vs .net to learn the differences between these domain extensions and which one you should pick for your website.

If you’re looking to create a website, the 3 top levels to choose from are .org, .com, and .net. However, there are more differences between the 3 than just spelling.

When registering a domain name, you have the option of registering it as a .org, .com, or .net domain. The main difference between these 3 extensions is that .org domains are more specialized and typically used for nonprofit organizations, while .com domains are more general purpose and suitable for businesses and other entities, such as charities. .net domains are reserved for companies with a global presence.

You need to consider several factors when selecting your domain extension. These include the brand’s target audience, what words or phrases are popular right now, and how easy it will be to market your business using that specific domain name. Additionally, you should remember the cost of registering and maintaining your chosen domain name.

To help you get started, Google has created a Domain Planning tool that can provide insights into current trends and how they might impact your chosen business sector. You can also use this information as a reference when making decisions about your own website or branding strategy.

Bring your brand to life with your own website. Design from scratch, connect a domain, analyze traffic, and optimize for SEO.

What Does Com Mean

The .com domain extension stands for company and is the No.1 premium domain extension. Although businesses commonly use both .com and .org extensions, .com is almost exclusively used by for-profit businesses.

.Com extensions are also more mobile-friendly, allowing them to better capitalize on the continuing mobile trend. However, when searching for the perfect domain name, youll find that there are many more .org extensions available to purchase. In fact, competition for a great domain with a .com extension can be fierce.

Pick A Domain Registrar

Domains are sold from special companies known as domain name registrars. To sell and register domains, a generic top-level domain or country code top-level domain registry must accredit a registrar.

Thankfully, there are many domain registrars to choose from, such as Namecheap and . The best registrars offer low pricing, free WHOIS protection, and discounts for multi-year registrations.

Determine The Objectives Of Your Nonprofits Website

Before diving into the design phase, you should set objectives for the website, to make the purpose of your website very clear.

What is your main objective for your website? Do you want to promote your events to sell more tickets? Are you hoping to attract new members and donors? Are you needing to keep your members updated?

You also should consider your nonprofit organizations values and the image you want to convey to your website visitors.

Make sure your goals and values are reflected in the following steps: website layout, choice of words, colors, etc.

Loss Of Brand Awareness

Brand awareness is something that you have more control over when changing your domain name. If you have frequent direct traffic site visitors , you risk losing them when you change your domain name. They may type in your old domain and when the site doesnt load, think that youve gone offline permanently.

You can mitigate this risk by using redirects and messaging. Implement a 301 redirect from your old domain to your new one for a period of at least 120 days.

Many site visitors will catch on and notice the new domain name, but you cant bank on everyone being observant. Instead, think about including a message or pop-up on your site announcing your new domain name or rebrand to make sure they see it and use the new domain name moving forward.

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Impacts Of Domain Name Extensions

While you can register most extensions, the one you choose can impact your website in many ways.

Search Ranking

One of the biggest impacts is search ranking. While the importance of extensions and TLDs has varied over the years, theyre still a major factor in most peoples browsing habits. To this end, some extensions are better than others, with .COM usually being the most desirable.

Thats not to say every website needs a .COM extension or that every website would benefit from one. For example, .ORG domains may rank higher for nonprofit-related searches, while .EDU domains will rank higher for school-related searches.

Similarly, browsing in certain countries may cause local domains to rank higher in your search.

Interestingly, the latest search algorithms dont use domain name extensions in their ranking . So why will a .COM usually pop up before a .STORE or .XYZ extension?

The answer: User bias.

User Bias

While TLDs may not mean much to Googles algorithms, they definitely mean a lot to you and me even if we dont always realize it. If were more inclined to click on a .COM address than a .NET address, then the .COM address will likely receive more traffic.

Most people would click on the .COM website. Though thats a very particular example, we make many similar choices every time we search for something. Just as youd choose amazon.com over amazon.net, most people do the same and top search engine results show it.

Traffic

If Your Domain Name And Extension Arent Available

Since the majority of websites use the more common domain extensions, theres a chance that the name you want is no longer available. In this case, you might be tempted to register with a different extension. Still, you should first consider if theres a way to modify the name of the website. For example, if the name of your organization is Helping Kids, and the domain Helpingkids.org is not available, I wouldnt run to try and register the .com or .net versions. Youre better off going with helping-kids.org or helpingkidstoday.org. With a little creativity, youll figure out a way to make it work.

People are forgiving when the brand name and domain do not exactly match. On the other hand, if youre a nonprofit with a .com extension or a legitimate company with a .org extension, your credibility will probably come into question. If possible, its a good idea to select and purchase your domain name when deciding the name of your business or organization so you can be sure to choose a name that has an available domain.

When youre looking for a domain name, it helps to have a domain availability checker at your disposal. Check out the one below, courtesy of Bluehost.

What Is The Difference Between The Ngo And Ong Domains

The domain acronyms are meant to use phrases people around the world use to refer to nonprofits. NGO, which stands for non-governmental organization, is an abbreviation already well known to many in the United States, while ONG is commonly used in countries that use romance languages. When applying for validation to purchase either a .ngo or .ong domain, successful validated applicants automatically will receive both domains. When your nonprofit reserves its .ngo domain, it automatically receives the .ong version, as well.

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Statistics To Remember When Choosing Between Org Vs Com

You may have already decided between .com vs .org based on your industry alone. But before purchasing your domain name, here are some statistics that might influence your decision:

People are 3.8x more likely to assume that your domain name ends in .com when trying to remember the name of your website.
However, expect to have a difficult time finding a .com domain name that isnt already taken: 52.3% of all registered TLDs worldwide are .com.
Your .org domain name may be easier to snag as only 5.2% of domains use .org.
Still, getting a .com name might be worth your while, as people correctly remember a .com domain name 44% of the time.

Despite .com having a clear advantage, both .com and .org are extremely popular and memorable. Both .com and .org domains are reliable, and either will give your website credibility. Choosing between .com vs .org will ultimately depend on how appropriate the extension is for your industry and business type.

What Are The Costs Of Registering A Trademark For Your Nonprofit

Here’s a rundown of the costs you’ll likely face:

Initial costs. Before choosing a trademark, you will first need to run a trademark search. A search can run anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to several thousand. While it’s tempting to cut corners and run your own search, this is actually the most important part of the process. You should use a professional for this step.
Application filing fees. There are filing fees associated with filing your initial federal trademark application. Those range from $250-$750 and can add up quickly. In addition, if you hire an attorney to file and monitor your application for you, you will have to pay attorney’s fees on top of the filing fees, whether hourly or on a flat-fee basis. Don’t be surprised to pay up to $3,000 to the lawyer.
Maintenance fees.Once you have obtained your federal trademark registration, there is required paperwork that must be filed every few years in order to keep your trademark registration active. The current fee is $525. Again, you’ll need to pay attorney’s fees if you choose to use an attorney.
Miscellaneous fees.You will likely want to have an attorney draft a standard cease-and-desist letter in advance for you, so you can send it out on your own if and when you discover that someone is using your nonprofit’s trademarks. And of course if that doesn’t work, you will have to enlist an attorney to help resolve your dispute. Those fees can get high, especially if your dispute leads to litigation.

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