Internationalized Domain Names Are Here! - What Does It Mean?

You may have heard some buzz about International Domain Names (IDNs) over the past couple of months, but aren’t sure what that means or how it applies to you. Here are some answers to the questions you may have.

Just this month, Webnames.ca opened up registrations for International Domain Names (IDNs). This means a lot for the online community! Anyone can now register their domain name in other languages, allowing you to communicate directly with your audiences, all over the world.

What is an IDN?

An IDN is an Internet domain name that contains at least one character that is outside the English alphabet. This character can be in any language such as Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Tamil or Latin based characters. These characters include à, è, ì, ò, ù, 中国, ш, ц, and ж. This allows for websites and companies to connect with their visitors in their own language.

.CA IDN Launch

In the past, .CA domain holders were limited to using English characters when creating their domain names. However, the launch of .CA IDNs will prove to be a significant event for all .CA domain holders. Francophone Canadians will now be able to register a .CA domain name in French, which provides for better representation on the Internet. Additionally, Anglophone Canadians will now also be able to register their domain names in French.

More IDN News

To coincide with the launch of .CA IDNs, we have also opened registrations for IDNs with other generic top level domain (gTLD) extensions. You can now create domain names in other languages using different domain extensions. Some of these gTLD extensions are: .COM, .ORG, .NET and .BIZ. This is another great opportunity to connect with visitors in their own language and expand your market reach with domains such as frènch.com or 中国.net.

How to register for an IDN

Registering for an IDN is easy. Simply go to our IDN registration page at www.webnames.ca/DomainIDNSearch and follow these simple steps.

1. Select your preferred language
2. Enter your desired domain name and select your preferred domain extension. Note that for .CAs, only diacritics will be accepted.
3. Register for your domain name if it is available for registration.

For more information, visit our IDN FAQ page by clicking here or give our support team a call at 1-866-221-7878 and we can help you get your names registered!