How to buy an emoji domain
If you’re looking for a cute and memorable domain name that will make your site stand out from the crowd, consider buying an emoji domain – as you should, they’re at the top of the charts today.
It’s no secret that choosing a domain name can help make or break a small to medium sized business (SMB) and become a personal blogging site (opens in new tab) turn into a rising star or let it fall into oblivion.
A domain name is your website’s address, but it’s much more than that — it can be the first thing someone notices on your website, making it just as important as your logo and brand name.
An overly wordy Uniform Resource Locator (URL) can throw up a few red flags, and if it’s hard to remember to boot – your site’s fate is sealed, most of your potential customers will steer clear.
So best keep it short, sweet and somewhat memorable – and what better way to make something simple to remember than to use something that will be most useful in everyday communication, professional and personal ? By sticking in an emoji, of course.
What is an emoji domain?
An emoji domain is a domain name with one or more emoji in it — it’s as simple as that.
With the first being created in 2001, emoji domains aren’t exactly new kids on the block. However, with the rise of smartphones, we have seen a serious increase in their popularity in recent years. Some powerful companies like Coca-Cola have also experimented with emoji domains as part of their marketing campaigns.
With over 2,600 unique emojis to combine with text, the possibilities seem endless.
How is an emoji domain different from a regular domain?
Although emoji domains have been with us for quite a while, it’s still not allowed to add an emoji in top-level domains (TLDs) like .com, .net or .org, which is unfortunate but understandable. That’s because more than a few phishing sites have been detected on emoji domains, raising the alarm at many domain registrars (opens in new tab).
Also, since emoji domains are not supported by all browsers, applications and social media, if you want to register one you have to do it twice: first in image form and then in a text format called punycode – with a regular domain this is not necessary.
For example, if for some reason you want to use a shocked emoji (“😮”), after converting it to punycode it would like this “xn--p38h” – so if your browser doesn’t support emoji domain instead of emoji you would above see a confusing combination of characters.
Since the number of TLDs for emoji domains is severely limited as .ws, .st and .fm have long been the only available extensions, unless you create a surprisingly unique combination of emoji – the domain you wish could already be taken.
Registering an emoji domain is also a bit trickier than a regular domain, so we’ll cover that in detail a little later.
What are the advantages of buying an emoji domain?
Despite the downsides, owning an emoji domain also comes with a number of benefits, so let’s take a look at the top ones.
1. You overcome the language barrier
Much like the smile that connects the world through a simple yet powerful facial expression, an emoji can create a connection between people who don’t even speak the same language.
They’re everywhere, from social media sites to customer support platforms, woven into almost every aspect of our daily lives – and they’re here to stay.
2. They will help you connect with the younger generation
If you’re trying to get your website to speak the language of the new generation, upping your game with emojis might be a smart place to start. Unlike their predecessors, today’s generation grew up with the emojis we know and love today – they’re their second language and they use them all the time.
So if you feel like something is getting lost in translation while trying to speak their language, try emojis.
3. You can amplify your marketing strategy
You can see emojis everywhere from your great-grandmother’s Facebook account and your niece’s latest TikTok video to the best-selling clothing brands and billboards – showing the world they’re imaginative, imaginative and inexpensive marketing tools (opens in new tab).
Emoji domains are easy to remember and can benefit all types and sizes of businesses, startups and boomers alike — and they’re best suited for subscription-based businesses trying to keep in touch with their customers, especially when they purposeful are the digital nomads.
Where do I register emoji domains?
As of this year, there are 11 top-level domains eligible for emoji domain registration, including .cf, .fm, .ga, .gq, .kz, .ml, .st, .tk, .to, . uz and .ws; and 14 second-level domains.
Since most top domain registrars don’t support emoji domains, you’ll need to convert your chosen emoji to punycode or take the easiest way and choose a registry that does – your options include i❤.ws (opens in new tab), dotFM (opens in new tab)and Register.TO (opens in new tab).
Steps to Buying an Emoji Domain for Your Business
In short, as suggested in the chapter above, if you want an emoji domain, you need to buy it from an emoji-specific domain registrar or a regular domain registrar that supports emoji domains (e.g. Namecheap domain registration (opens in new tab) Service).
The easiest way is to contact an emoji-specific domain registrar, enter the domain you want to register in the domain search box (don’t forget to select an emoji or emojis) and check its availability. When it’s available to use, you can buy it right away and at a pocket-friendly price – it should be around $5 a year. However, if this is not the case, you will be asked to choose one of the suggestions.
If you took the hard route, copy the emoji or emojis you want to use and go to Punycode Converter (opens in new tab)where you paste it into the box and tap “Convert to Punycode”.
Once the conversion to ASCII is complete, you’ll end up with a dizzying array of characters that you’ll want to store somewhere – the best part is that you can mix and match multiple emojis any way you like, and even combine them with ASCII – that is, any numbers, English letters, and special characters .
The next step is to go to the domain registrar you want to use and paste your preferred combination (Punycode alone or combined with ASCII) in the domain search box, check availability and finally register your newfangled domain – And that was about it.
💯🌐👁🗨😎
Emojis are a simple but effective way to add emotion to your domain name, humanizing it while making it more memorable and therefore more efficient as a marketing tool.
All you have to do is work out Punycode (which is super easy) and register your emoji domain like any other.
Before you begin, however, keep in mind that not all browsers, apps, and social media sites will display your domain the way you envisioned it. Also, there are many similar emojis that might make some unlucky web users confuse your site with others.