Last year meant a year of consolidation for the .barcelona domain, with the figure of 4,175 renewals similar to previous years. In contrast, the number of new domain registrations reached 786. The overall number of .barcelona domains stands at 5,183, with a renewal rate of 83.06%.
Various new registrations stand out in 2021. For instance, the virtual shop window for neighbourhood commerce bcnmarket.barcelona, sportshub.barcelona and alimentaciosostenible.barcelona. These three sites provide support for commerce, sustainable food and sport.
Having a .barcelona domain helps get projects off the ground which are beneficial to the city. The income from .barcelona is also reinvested to create projects such as elmeucomerç.barcelona, which has the goal of helping neighbourhood shops and businesses go digital. The establishments that signed up to the programme got a new .barcelona domain through a simple free process. This is a way for shops and businesses to link their digital identity with the city.
A domain open to all
Barcelona became the latest city to set up its own domain in March 2016, when it launched .barcelona. All organisations, companies, individuals and administrations with ties to the city of Barcelona and its catchment area, or who engage in activity there, can register using the city’s domain.
The .barcelona domain is part of the international association geoTLD, which provides it with greater representation within the sector. The community is made up of over a million active top-level geographical domains, such as those using .berlin, .paris, .london and .tokyo. The geoTLD Group works in the interest of geographical domains to promote local identities and disseminate their values.
The idea of a link with a large city such as Barcelona is a key part of the goals of the .barcelona domain, as is backing for city projects and getting on the Catalan capital’s digital map. Users value the fact they can be identified with Barcelona, whether this is for others to find them of because they are identified with the city’s attributes.
