Overview
- .photo is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) created for photography-related websites.
- Proposed through ICANN's New gTLD Program, the string conveys immediate context for content focused on photos and photography services.
- The registry and manager named in the application and related material is Uniregistry.
History
- Application and program: Proposed as part of ICANN's New gTLD Program (application details revealed on 13 June 2012).
- Registry agreement: Uniregistry received a Registry Agreement signed by ICANN on 14 November 2013.
- Delegation: .photo was delegated to the DNS root zone on 18 January 2014, completing the successful application and delegation process.
- Operator background: Uniregistry Corp. was presented in application materials as a new venture formed by domain industry veterans to serve as the delegated registry services provider for .photo.
Usage and Audience
- Target audience:
- Professional photographers and photography studios
- Amateur photographers and hobbyists
- Individuals and organizations sharing photographs with friends, family, and the wider Internet
- Businesses offering photography-related services or content
- Registry intent and services (as described in application materials):
- Position .photo as a meaningful, semantic namespace for photographic content
- Provide directory services, traffic-generation toolkits, and search-related functionality to promote the .photo namespace and its registrants
- Operate the TLD to benefit both registrants and Internet users seeking photography-related resources
Registration Rules
- Registry policy stance:
- The registry described its role as a neutral services provider, stating it would not give preferential registration opportunities to any particular market participant.
- The registry planned to implement safeguards for intellectual property interests while fostering growth of the namespace.
- Pricing and renewals:
- Application materials stated a flat pricing structure and fixed renewal costs, with no material price increases planned for the first five years.
SEO and Brand Impact
- Semantic and branding benefits:
- .photo is intended to convey clear semantic meaning about site content, helping users immediately understand a site's focus on photos or photography.
- The registry argued that semantically meaningful TLDs serve as mnemonic devices that aid discoverability, memorability, and differentiation of web resources.
- Positioning:
- The TLD was promoted as a specialty namespace suited to registrants who want a descriptive, photography-focused domain rather than a more general TLD.
Operator
Registry Services, LLC
Whois
% IANA WHOIS server
% for more information on IANA, visit http://www.iana.org
% This query returned 1 object
domain: PHOTO
organisation: Registry Services, LLC
address: 100 S. Mill Ave, Suite 1600
address: Tempe AZ 85281
address: United States of America (the)
contact: administrative
name: IANA Contact
organisation: GoDaddy Registry
address: 100 S. Mill Ave, Suite 1600
address: Tempe AZ 85281
address: United States of America (the)
phone: +1 480 505 8800
fax-no: +1 480 624 2546
e-mail: iana@registry.godaddy
contact: technical
name: IANA Contact
organisation: GoDaddy Registry
address: 100 S. Mill Ave, Suite 1600
address: Tempe AZ 85281
address: United States of America (the)
phone: +1 480 505 8800
fax-no: +1 480 624 2546
e-mail: iana@registry.godaddy
nserver: A.NIC.PHOTO 2001:dcd:1:0:0:0:0:10 37.209.192.10
nserver: B.NIC.PHOTO 2001:dcd:2:0:0:0:0:10 37.209.194.10
nserver: C.NIC.PHOTO 2001:dcd:3:0:0:0:0:10 37.209.196.10
nserver: X.NIC.PHOTO 156.154.172.82 2610:a1:1074:0:0:0:1:82
nserver: Y.NIC.PHOTO 156.154.173.82 2610:a1:1075:0:0:0:1:82
nserver: Z.NIC.PHOTO 156.154.174.82 2610:a1:1076:0:0:0:1:82
ds-rdata: 8311 13 2 7f11b4d8e82f14ace5adcfa2c5cb6701d6e40d87c4f92b129aa62118a7890beb
whois: whois.nic.photo
status: ACTIVE
remarks: Registration information: http://nic.photo/
created: 2014-01-16
changed: 2024-04-17
source: IANA
Registrars
