ccTLDs.com » Country Code Specific Forums » .ws Forum

[Gustavo Volcan]

I guess this extension is owned by a MLM company. Is it right?

They have a deal with king of Samoa to share this extension and revenue... they say "WS" is supposed to mean "WEB SITE".

[snicksnack]

here you can read the story about .ws :

Welcome to WebSite.ws -- your internet address for life

[Gustavo Volcan]

Originally Posted by snicksnack

here you can read the story about .ws :

Welcome to WebSite.ws -- your internet address for life

Actually I have subscribed to this business some months ago just to check... own .ws domains... forgot the name.

Seems good for people that like MLM.

Regards!

[Viator]

While it has not yet become widely popular as an extension meaning "website" (I do not mean domainers, but I have other people in mind, those not familiar with the industry), I feel that .ws still has prospects. It is interesting to noticew that sone registrars (e.g. Dynadot) expressly advertise it as WS=website on their page, which is a good way to promote it.

So I have recently started buying some .ws names myself, after having long been very hesitant. But I have long-term prospects in mind, and I am aware of the risk that it might never fully develop. Nevertheless, among the ccTLDs, this looks like one of those with a potential.

[Edwin]

Personally, I automatically ignore every cctld which is being marketed as some kind of pseudo-global extension (e.g. .cc, .ws, .to, .me etc - the list's quite long these days) where there's no significant local population to create a local market for the cctld.

If there's no local market, you're relying on "other people in general" whether domainers or companies to somehow choose your domain name and extension over all other choices AND pay a meaningfully large amount for it.

If there is a strong local market, then all you're doing is relying on time and increasing awareness of the importance of domain names to bring all those customers swimming into your domain-nets. A very different, and much more appealing prospect.

[Rick Latona]

People have been trying to sell me .ws names for years. They have been working this extension for a long time.

Funny story, when I was at the ICANN meeting in Mexico City, a .ws guy asked me if he thought he could get away with selling third level names like .com.ws.

I politely said no.

[Viator]

com.ws!! No, I wouldn't go for that one! Incredible that people even think about it, considering all the good .ws names still available!

As Edwin remarked, pseudo-global extensions are problematic.

On the other hand, due to the crowded market for the major extensions, especially .com, I see some prospects for high-quality, very generic .ws names. Not second-rate .ws names, obviously, not even worth reg fee. But since top quality gTLDs are out of reach for most people, including smaller businesses, some might be interested to go for a .ws at affordable prices.

You certainly know better, but I am right now exploring that possibility, and time will tell if it can work. Anyway, I will limit .ws to a tiny percentage of my portfolio.

[Alfredo]

.com.ws can only be registered by local residents of Samoa.

Samoanic.ws says:
If you are both a local resident and citizen of Samoa, you may qualify to register XXXXX.COM.WS. Please stop by our office or contact us for assistance.