Google opens up .dev top-level domain name to the public

New top-level domain will enable developers to create communities, show projects, and teach new technologies - at a price, of course

Google has opened up its .dev top level domain (TLD) for the general public as part of its Early Access Programme. This is the first time that the tech giant is letting anyone register a domain using .dev extension.

The specific web domain is dedicated to developers and will enable them to create communities, show projects, and teach new technologies, among other applications.

Google bought the .dev generic TLD (gTLD) in 2015 when ICANN opened up the web to new gTLDs. At that time, Google also bought rights to some other TLDs including the .app which Google acquired for US$25 million, the highest purchase price for a TLD in an ICANN auction at that time.

Google also said that the mission of the .dev TLD was to "provide a dedicated domain space in which Google can enact second-level domains specific to its projects in development."

Later, Google started using the new .dev domain in some of its projects, including opensource.dev and web.dev.

In November last year, the company announced that the domain will be available to select partners from 16th January 2019. Companies like Mozilla, GitHub, Netflix, Stripe, Glitch, Salesforce, and JetBrains then started using the .dev domain.

Right now, the registration of a .dev is available to anyone through an early access programme, which means users will have to pay an extra fee (starting from US$11,000) that will decrease every day as per a daily schedule until 28th February.

From 28^th February onwards, anyone can register a .dev domain at a base annual price through a registrar of choice.

Dozens of registrars, including Name.com, GoDaddy, Network Solutions, and of course, Google Domains, are currently offering the .dev domains.

According to Google, the new domain would be secure by default, requiring "Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) to connect to .dev websites."

HTTPS is the secure encrypted version of HTTP and protects users against threats like ad malwares, open Wi-Fi threats, etc.

"With every .dev website that's launched, you help move the web to an HTTPS-everywhere future," Google said in a blog post.

"We look forward to seeing what you create on .dev!"