ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) coordinates the domain name system and sets the policies that every accredited registrar and registry must follow. Those policies decide who can sell domain names, how disputes are resolved, what WHOIS data is published and when new top-level domains can be introduced.
This hub collects my coverage of ICANN policy and the new gTLD (generic top-level domain) program, from the 2012 application round and the launch of hundreds of new extensions through the 2026 round. It also covers Verisign and the .com registry, registration trends by extension, and the practical question many businesses still ask: does a new extension perform as well as a .com? The short answer has always depended on the audience, the use and how the domain is promoted, and the posts below show the evidence behind that answer.
Where to Start
- Don’t Fall for the Fake ICANN Verification Email Circulating Right Now (2025)
- ICANN to Raise Registrar Fees for First Time in 10+ Years — Here’s How Much You’ll Pay (2025)
- New gTLD Domain Name Forum Launched (2014)
- After a 13-Year Wait, ICANN Finally Reopens the Door to New Domain Extensions (2025)
- Gmail Not Recognizing New gTLD Domain Names (2014)
- New ICANN gTLD Tool Warns Applicants Before Reveal Day Chaos Hits (2026)
More Coverage, Newest First
- ICANN Sets Critical DNS Security Rollover Date (2026)
- ICANN’s New gTLD Window Is Now Open (2026)
- ICANN Just Launched a Free University Program That Could Rewrite the Rules of Domain Names Worldwide (2026)
- ICANN85 Lands in Mumbai (2026)
- Why ICANN Picked Guyana for Its First Caribbean “Near You” Event (2026)
- ICANN Under Pressure as VPN.com CEO Calls for ccTLD Sanctions Over Internet Censorship (2026)
- ICANN Sounds the Alarm on a Divided Internet (2025)
- How ICANN84 Could Rewrite the Future of Internet Governance (2025)
- Internet Stability Isn’t a Guarantee—ICANN Report Shows What We’re Risking (2025)
- ICANN83 Set for Prague with Internet Governance at a Crossroads (2025)
- Global Marketers Back gTLDs for Brand Growth (2025)
- EnCirca Launches Tokenized Domains — Bringing Web3 Identity to ICANN Registrants (2025)
- ICANN’s Hanoi Forum 2025: Building a Multilingual Internet for the Next Billion Users (2025)
- UNESCO and ICANN Team Up to Break Language Barriers on the Internet (2025)
- Public Interest Registry Announces 2024 .ORG Impact Awards Finalists, Alan Cumming to Host Ceremony (2024)
- Public Interest Registry Invites Applications for Its Prestigious Advisory Council (2024)
- Historic Internet Governance Event in Kigali: ICANN80 and High-Level Government Meeting to Shape the Future of the Internet (2024)
- Public Interest Registry Calls for Nominations for the Sixth Annual .ORG Impact Awards (2024)
- Unlock the Digital Future: $10 Million in Grants to Innovate the Internet from ICANN (2024)
- ICANN Drops $10 Million Bombshell: Global Innovation Takes Center Stage with Game-Changing Grant Program (2024)
- Unlocking Internet Secrets: ICANN’s Game-Changing RDRS Service Revealed (2023)
- Public Interest Registry Honors Global Changemakers in 5th Annual .ORG Impact Awards (2023)
- XYZ Registry Acquires .CEO Top Level Domain (2023)
- ICANN Marks 25 Years (2023)
- Winners of the 3rd Annual Public Interest Registry .ORG Impact Awards (2021)
- 23 Top Level Domains TLDs Up for Auction (2021)
- Verisign’s DomainScope is Shutting Down (2020)
- Don’t Think New gTLD Domain Names Can Rank Well? Think Again (2018)
- Do People Confuse New gTLD Domains with .COM Domains? (2017)
- Which New gTLD Is Winning The Website Development War? (2017)
- New gTLD Domains Win The SEO Hero Contest (2017)
- Are New gTLD Domain Names Losing Traffic to Dot COM? (2016)
- Even Those Sending Spam Don’t Understand the New gTLDs (2016)
- New Search Engine Launched: Only Searches New gTLD Domain Names (2016)
- Google Using Twitter to Promote New gTLD Domain Names (2016)
- Two New gTLD Domains Show Up in Alexa What’s Hot (2016)
- The New gTLD Domain Name Extensions Explained, Using Pizza (2015)
- Google Now a Part of Alphabet, Uses New gTLD Domain Extension (2015)
- Many in Marketing Don’t Know About the New gTLDs and Domain Extensions (2015)
- Even Huge Institutions Can’t Move Their Sites Properly to a New gTLD (2015)
- ICANN Hacked (2014)
- Google Activates Their First New gTLD Domain Name (2014)
- GoDaddy Price Confusion Over Premium New gTLD Domains (2014)
- Is .Com Better than a New gTLD Domain Name? (2014)
- Selling New gTLDs? It Pays to Proofread Your Logos and Images (2014)
- Domain Name Scam Alert: ICANN Does NOT Provide Domain Name Appraisals (2014)
- Google Calls New gTLDs Domain Endings, Offers Web Hosting (2014)
- Reports of Websites Going Down for Lack of ICANN Email Verification (2014)
- Apple iPhone Doesn’t Recognize New gTLD Domain Names (2014)
- .Photos, .Shoes, .Recipes, .Careers gTLD Domain Registrations Now Open (2014)
- Twitter Not Recognizing New gTLDs in Tweets (2014)
- Facebook Recognizes New gTLDs in Facebook Posts (2014)
- Google Plus Recognizes new gTLDs as Links in Posts (2014)
- List of New gTLDs – New Domain Names Coming Soon (2014)
- Are Registrars Price Gouging Pre-Registration of New gTLDs? (2014)
- Donuts, Inc. Adds 7 Generic Top-Level Domains (2013)
- New ICANN Regulations Require Domains to be Verified by Email or Phone (2013)
- Domain Name Uniform Rapid Suspension System URS: National Arbitration Forum First ICANN Provider (2013)