So what is a .CO domain? Five years ago, .CO was the country code top-level domain of Colombia. In order to get one, you had to be a resident of that country. On a magical day in July of 2010, however, .CO lifted that restriction, allowing anyone in the world to get a .CO domain name. With the answer to “what is a .CO domain used for” having changed, there are now 1.8 million .CO domains registered in over 200 countries. Clearly, there’s a real demand for .CO websites.
It’s no surprise that .CO immediately grabbed the attention of startups. With more .CO domains available than in the crowded .COM namespace, it was (and still is) easier to find the perfect domain name with .CO. And when it comes to startups, a great name can mean everything. If you’re a startup looking for your big break, you want a short and catchy name that’s simple for people to type into their browsers, rolls off your tongue when pitching to investors, and can spread like wildfire by word-of-mouth. Plus, since “co” is an abbreviation for both company and community, it’s a natural fit for many of these fledgling organizations.
Today, thousands of innovative companies make up the .CO community, ranging from scrappy startups to Fortune 500 companies. Let’s take a look at some of our favorite startups that opted for .CO websites.
Hinge – hinge.co
That’s right, arguably the most popular dating app has a .CO website. Hinge is an online dating service that’s that’s more focused on relationships and tends to be less random than Tinder. The startup with the wildly popular “dating app designed to be deleted” slogan chose .CO as their TLD and it’s proven to serve them very well. This is a great example of using .CO to lock down a very common and popular website name when .COM is already taken.
Vine – vine.co (defunct)
While the adoption of short-form video by the larger social media platforms spelled the end for Vine, we’ve all heard of this video sharing service. Vine users were able to share mesmerizing loops of six-second long video clips natively and embed them on other platforms. At one point, 100 million people watched Vine videos monthly and 1.5 billion Vine loops were played every day. Try to picture “vine.com” in your head. Looks funny, doesn’t it? That’s because the .CO quickly became an integral part of the Vine brand.
Ello – ello.co
Ello is an ad-free, niche social network and publishing platform dedicated to artistic creators. All manner of visual art, photography, music, fashion, writing and much more are presented in a Pinterest-like format. Collaborations and sale of creations are also supported. Having foregone considerable financial gain potential in favor of cultivating art, Ello is a true community so a .CO website is a perfect fit.
Yo – justyo.co
Initially, this app’s only functionality was allowing you to say “Yo” to your contacts and them saying “Yo” back. A couple of months after its release, it was valued at between $5 million and $10 million, receiving $1.5 million in funding. What a world. This .CO domain shows another great use of .CO – making your website that ends in the letter “O” more memorable both visually and when said aloud. “Yo-dot-KOH” or “Yo-dot-SEE-OH.” Catchy, right?
Canopy – canopy.co
With the comforting and trust-inducing mental imagery the word elicits, “Canopy” is an attractive name adopted by numerous organizations. This website wisely snapped up the .CO option. Canopy is a very cool concept: members curate the best products they’ve found in different categories on Amazon, and only Amazon. So instead of searching through thousands of options, Canopy helps you find the best item for your next-day delivery.
Visual Supply Co. – vsco.co
VSCO is an art/tech company that offers an array of creative tools to modify and improve photo and video content. The app is free, but with paid membership far more advanced tools are at your fingertips. With “co” actually in their name, this is one of the most memorable .CO websites.
Brit + co – brit.co
Brit + co is a creative media sharing platform and online marketplace for DIY living, making and doing. Targeted at women and girls, Brit + co is often regarded as the Martha Stewart of the digital age. Here’s another genius tactic some popular .CO websites use: if your organization is a “Someone & Co.” the .CO domain name does the work for you.
Ilumi – ilumi.co
Ilumi is an app-controlled smart lightbulb that can turn itself into over a million color combinations for a range of different lighting experiences, like scheduling a sunrise to start your day or pulsing to the beat of music. In addition to raising $200,000 through crowdfunding, the company successfully pitched Mark Cuban on Shark Tank, and its products are now available at Best Buy, Home Depot, and Amazon. Its creators often talk about their dedication to capital efficiency being part of their success. That may have something to do with them foregoing ilumi.com which has long been for sale–for EUR $12,000. Can they afford it? Sure. But with .CO being just as prestigious and memorable, it’s an easy decision for smart entrepreneurs.
Get your .CO domain at Hover.com
Got the perfect .CO domain name in mind? Head over to hover.com and snag it before someone else does! Even if the .CO version is taken, with over 400 TLDs (Top-Level Domains, aka “domain name extensions”) you’ll be able to find a version of your dream domain that’s available. Due to features like flexible email options, numerous service integrations, and free WHOIS privacy protection, your company will benefit right off the bat from a Hover domain name.
