Every quarter when the Domain Name Industry Brief lands, we brace for the numbers. Thus, when it revealed the web now counts 371.7 million registered domains worldwide—a 2.6 percent year‑over‑year bump—many responded with cautious pride. Indeed, we’ve passed 371 million, yet that growth tells two different stories at once.
On one hand, stable domains like .com remain resolute. With 157.9 million registrations, it claims the lion’s share of the legacy web. Meanwhile, country‑code TLDs such as .de, .uk, .cn and others quietly stack up 143.4 million domains with renewal rates often exceeding 80 percent. That kind of resilience signals measured, real demand.
However, the surge in new gTLDs—.xyz, .shop, .online and the rest—paints a wilder picture. Their third‑party registrations jumped 14.2 percent year‑over‑year to 39.5 million. But here’s the catch: two‑thirds of those expire within a year, since their renewal rate hovers at just 32.5 percent. In other words, the excitement vanishes fast. Like a viral meme, these names flash across the web only to disappear.
So even though domains grow, churn grows faster. Most new gTLDs fail to stick. Registrars earn quick revenue, but the turnover means the web starts to resemble a digital strip mall where shops open, look flashy, then shut down before year end.
Today’s internet splits into two: the quiet, durable backbone of established domains, and the noisy swarm of trend‑driven, short‑lived namespaces. That matters because it changes how builders, investors, and regulators perceive domain value. When domains serve as anchors for brand identity, infrastructure and web strategy, high churn undermines trust.
Ultimately, yes, the 371 million figure looks impressive. Yet growth without durability lacks meaning. In a digital ecosystem that demands longevity, the real challenge may not be adding names—but keeping them.
