Domain names are one of the quickest and most effective ways of identifying a webpage. Learning to read domain names will enable you to quickly identity a webpage’s country of origin (e.g. .au, .uk, .jp), and the entity (e.g. .edu, .gov, .org) that has produced the page.
When you run a search using a search engine, often the full web address (URL) will be displayed along with the results. Before opening the webpage, you can often check the URL to get an idea of the type of organisation or group who has published the site. This allows you to begin evaluating the quality of the information before you even open it!
Domain |
What does it mean? |
An example |
edu |
An educational institution, e.g. a university, college, high school or primary school. |
harvard.edu – Harvard University, USA uni-stuttgart.de – University of Stuttgart, Germany (Germany doesn’t use the edu domain) |
edu.au |
Australian educational institution. |
anu.edu.au – the Australian National University (ANU) cit.act.edu.au – Canberra Institute of Technology kurnaicollege.vic.edu.au – Kurnai College, Victoria |
ac.uk |
The .ac refers to “academic” and is used by United Kingdom, Indian and Japanese universities. |
ox.ac.uk – University of Oxford, England du.ac.in – University of Delhi, India u-tokyo.ac.jp – University of Tokyo, Japan |
gov (or go) |
Government departments. |
defence.gov.au – Department of Defence, Australia health.act.gov.au – ACT Department of Health, Australia deplu.go.id – Department of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Indonesia |
org |
An organisation (usually non-profit and community groups). |
alia.org.au – Australian Library and Information Association satsonline.org – South African Theological Seminary |
asn |
An association. |
tasorienteering.asn.au – Orienteering Tasmania Incorporated alpaca.asn.au – Australian Alpaca Association |
com |
Commercial or company. |
ebay.com.au – an online auction website greyhoundrescue.com.au – greyhound rescue, rehabilitation and rehoming |
co.uk |
United Kingdom commercial. |
news.bbc.co.uk – British Broadcasting Commission bookshop.co.uk – online bookshop |
net |
A networked organisation. |
abc.net.au – Australian Broadcasting Corporation raisingchildren.net.au – Australian parenting website |
Some country domains
au |
Australia |
in |
India |
pg |
Papua New Guinea |
ca |
Canada |
jp |
Japan |
uk |
United Kingdom |
cn |
China |
nz |
New Zealand |
vn |
Vietnam |
id |
Indonesia |
bw |
Botswana |
my |
Malaysia |
Page Contact: ANU Library Communication Team
+61 2 6125 5111
The Australian National University, Canberra
TEQSA Provider ID: PRV12002 (Australian University) |
CRICOS Provider Code: 00120C |
ABN: 52 234 063 906
Contact ANU |
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Freedom of Information