Domains Newsletter August 2025 – Openprovider

Hi there,

From trusted classics like .org to fast-growing favourites like .ai, the domain market is full of opportunities right now. In this edition, we’re putting the spotlight on TLDs that make a real impact - from our deals of the month to the full debrief on the domain industry’s Q2 performance.

You’ll also find the answers to three frequently asked questions about .ie and DNSSEC here, plus a quick update on *.za pricing.

Happy reading!

Quick: name a TLD that isn’t a ccTLD and that isn’t .com.

Chances are, you thought of .org - and for good reason.

With over 11 million domains registered, .org is trusted by NGOs, non-profits, and mission-driven brands around the world. It’s a strong, credible choice with a renewal rate of over 80% - a clear sign that most .org domains are used for real websites, not just parked or resold.

The .org registry also invests heavily in DNS abuse prevention, keeping the namespace clean and secure.

Until September 30, you can register .org domains for just $6.99 for the first year at Openprovider.* And as always, you’ll pay cost price after that, so the savings continue.

Don’t miss this deal on a domain that adds real value.

Please be aware that prices may fluctuate slightly due to currency conversion rates.

The Q2 DNIB was released recently and shows a picture of steady growth across the full domain industry. Total domain registrations reached 371.7 million worldwide, up 0.9% from Q1 and 2.6% year over year.

After several quarters of decline, .com is showing growth again, climbing to 157.9 million total registrations. Besides a growth in new registrations, the average renewal rate of .com and .net also rose to 75.5%, helping drive the overall growth of these two traditional domains on the Internet.

New gTLDs saw the strongest growth, up 4.6% from Q1 to 39.5 million registrations, and 14.2% year over year, although renewal rates remain on the lower side at 32.5%. Interestingly, a recent report from registry Identity Digital also mentioned that non-traditional domains are firmly on the rise - less than 50% of startups use a .com domain in 2025! The hottest options here include .ai, .io, .pro, .info, and .global.

In terms of numbers, the top TLDs in Q2 of 2025 overall were .com, .cn, .de, .net, .org, .uk, .ru, .nl, .br, and .xyz, showing a wide mix of legacy, country-code, and newer extensions.

Want to broaden your target audience? Don’t forget that you can get almost all of these domains (with the exception of .cn and .br) at cost price at Openprovider!

What is an administrative contact for .ie?
One of the most common issues when registering a .ie domain is not following the registry’s contact policy, which can cause delays.
The .ie registry requires the registrant to appoint one or more named individuals as administrative contacts. These contacts act as the registrant’s nominated representatives. The registrant and admin contact must not be the same person.
At Openprovider, this means using different contact handles for the owner and the admin contact.
If the same handle is used for both, it can trigger multiple errors at the registry. While we plan to add a safeguard to prevent this, it’s important to keep this in mind to avoid registration issues.

What are .ie charity domains?
The .ie registry waives registration and renewal fees for all charities registered in Ireland.
You can review the full .ie charity policy here.
Charities that register a .ie domain through Openprovider can contact our support team after the registration is complete. We’ll then process a refund for both the registration and renewal fees

What does a DNSSEC full key look like?

To configure DNSSEC in Openprovider, you should obtain the following from your DNS hosting provider:

Key type: ZSK (Zone Signing Key) or KSK (Key Signing Key)

Algorithm: Cryptographic algorithm (e.g., 8 = RSA/SHA-256)

Public key: Base64-encoded public key string

Example of a DNSKEY record:

example.com. IN DNSKEY 257 3 8 (

AwEAAcU4Z5Xk1RZKZz7ZKjz1sYzqVZKZz7ZKjz1sYzqVZKZz7ZKjz1sYzqV

ZKZz7ZKjz1sYzqVZKZz7ZKjz1sYzqVZKZz7ZKjz1sYzqV

ZKZz7ZKjz1sYzqV

) ; Key ID = 12345

257: Key Signing Key (KSK)
3: DNSSEC protocol
8: RSA/SHA-256 algorithm
Public key: Used to verify DNS responses

Example of a DS record:

example.com. IN DS 12345 8 21CB889174DAA76006A35432F227AB7EF1C7AED865E92

12345: Matches DNSKEY ID
8: RSA/SHA-256
2: SHA-256 digest type
Digest: Cryptographic hash of the DNSKEY

We identified an error in our *.za pricing for Members, which has since been resolved. You can find the details of this change in the control panel newsfeed.