November 14, 2018

Google to launch .DEV top level domain, begin registrations from Feb 2019

The launch aims to make .DEV a go-to-TLD for developers in a bid to help them test websites as well as build web pages.

top level domain

Months after launching the .APP new gTLD, tech giant Google are all set to lauch .DEV top level domain, with registrations commencing in the month of February, 2019. With this launch, Google seeks to make .DEV a go-to-TLD for developers in a bid to help them test websites as well as build web pages.

Google claim that back in 2015, they caused a minor shock within the designer network over their new rights to the .DEV top level domain, a domain that was utilised by a number of organizations for testing sites internally. After three years, Google say that obtaining the .DEV top level domain and its integration with Chrome and different browsers caused a significant number of such testing pages to not open at all.

By launching the .DEV TLD, Google believe that they will be securing a greater amount of mindshare among the developer community worldwide. They also believe that they can leverage their .APP domain that was launched a few months ago by looking at opportunities to cross-sell with .DEV.

Google say that they are planning to unveil the .DEV domain for the general public far ahead of schedule, early next year. They say that interested trademark holders will be allowed to claim the domain that is relevant to their enterprise from 16th of January to 19th of February 2018.

The tech giant also added that this will help prevent the purchase of names such as SNAPCHAT.DEV for malicious usage.

According to Google, the Early Access period for .DEV registrations will begin from 19th February and go on till the 28th, permitting enrollment at a higher cost. They revealed that even though no fixed number has been determined to this cost increment, the cost of the .DEV domain will diminish bit by bit, until the General Availability period begins from February 28th.