In simple terms, .ng is the domain extension for the country of Nigeria. .ng Domains can be registered under multiple extensions depending on the intended purpose.
.ng domains are largely classified into Open and Closed.
Open are those that can be registered by anyone anywhere in the world while Closed extensions are strictly moderated by the .ng registry and depending on their respective purpose, limited to Nigerian entities.
Open .NG Domains
- .NG: officially introduced in 2013 by the .ng registry, this option can be said to be generic. It is not restricted to any purpose, so long the domain is targeted at a Nigerian audience. It is typically priced higher than other options at all official .ng domain registrars as the registry considers it premium. It is the 2nd most popular type of .ng domain.
- .COM.NG: this option is the oldest and is the most popular – by far. Intended for Nigerian companies, it is affordable and accessible to all and sundry. It can be said to be generic considering it is the default option for many Nigerians choosing .ng domains.
- .ORG.NG: it is intended for Nigerian not-for-profit organizations. It is also a popular choice considering the large number of NGOs operating in Nigeria. It is the 3rd most popular .ng extension.
- .NAME.NG: it is intended as an affordable option for individual usage including personal websites, emails etc. It is for natural persons only. It is typically the cheapest .ng option.
- .MOBI.NG: it is an open .ng extension intended for Nigerian websites that are targeted at mobile devices.
- .I.NG: this open domain extension exists primarily to take advantage of the term “ng” in the English language. It makes domains like fish.i.ng affordable.
Closed .NG Domains
The following options are closed TLDs. The .ng registry requires official documentation to approve them.
- .GOV.NG: this is strictly for the different tiers and organs of Governments in Nigeria, as well as their Ministries, Departments and Parastatals. The strict policy around .gov.ng also moderates which extensions State and Local Governments can register. All .gov.ng domains are eventually vetted and approved by a Federal Government agency based in Abuja Nigeria.
- .EDU.NG: this is strictly for accredited Nigerian tertiary academic institutions only. These included Universities, Polytechnics, Monotechnics, Colleges of Education, Colleges of Agriculture etc, based in Nigeria. Qualified Federal, State or Private institutions can make use of the domain extension. It is not open to Secondary, Primary nor any other non-tertiary schools.
- .SCH.NG: intended for Nigerian Primary and Secondary schools. Other Nigerian academic institutions that do not qualify for .edu.ng domains can make use of .sch.ng
- .NET.NG: intended for licenced Nigerian Internet and/or Telecommunications Service Providers. .net.ng domains are typically configured for technical infrastructure including server and/or network equipment.
- .MIL.NG: this is available to the Nigerian Armed Forces and service branches only: Nigerian Air Force, Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy. It is not available to the general public.
It is worth noting that the .ng registry has a set of strictly enforced policies that moderate .ng registrations. Domains that contain curse words or considered offensive to Nigerian culture or any of the main religions in Nigeria are generally not allowed.
All the 11 .ng options are available from Web4Africa. Established in 2002, Web4Africa is a leading accredited .ng domain name registrar offering affordable domain names, website hosting, Virtual Servers, SSLs and related services to clients worldwide.
