.com or .pro for a software product with "Pro" in the name?

[dgmweb]

I'm re-branding a software product and would like to get some thoughts on the domain name - the product has the word "Pro" as part of it's name. I registered both the .com and the .pro - example SoftwareNamePro.com and SoftwareName.pro

Which do you think is better to use for the website/landing page? (I'm also going to flip the site and product eventually).

 

[dgmweb]

(hopefully this is the right forum for this question - if not please move as appropriate)

 

[Jurgen Wolf]

.PRO

.com - redirect 301.

 

[Jurgen Wolf]

Live example, popular Chrome extension: TabLayouts.PRO
They even don't own .com and are happy.

 

[dgmweb]

Hey thanks @Jurgen Wolf that's kind of what I am thinking - it's a shorter name overall than the .com and reinforces the branding.

 

[168]

.Pro !

 

[Azuresabre]

I would go with .pro. .com may feel safer, but it's becoming somewhat boring. .pro feels modern (and strong also) and that's what I would count on. Note that .pro doesn't support whois privacy, which is something the .pro registry should work on.

 

[Masay]

i prefer go with .com.. because you are going to flip as a website or products, it's easier to sell dot com than .pro to end user.

 

[Cdomains]

If you have the dot com, go with the dot com.

This avoids confusion, because you have to remember that most people still are not that familiar with the other extensions.

Using the dot pro is cool and seems like the natural choice because of the product name, but the dot com is the smart way to go here.

IMHO

 

[todaygold]

I agree with @Cdomains ...go with .com. People still aren't familiar with .pro, but everyone will recognize .com. Many people would see 'SoftwareName.Pro' and think the '.' is just a typo, not a web address.

 

[Lysted]

dot com is always the best choice for any business. You can have other extensions for marketability purposes, but to an internet user - dot com is the one that comes 'naturally'

 

[Jman92]

There is a solid arguments for both sides. However, I think it should depend on your targeted market. If your targeted market is the tech savvy kind with solid knowledge of domain names then I would definitely go with the .PRO. If you are targeting the masses, I would definitely go with the .com.

 

[HotKey]

.PRO

.com - redirect 301.

Exactly.

If you own both, use the upgraded version. The masses are smarter than people give them credit for.

 

[4pm]

The paradox is that if you want to look professional you go with .com
If you want to look hot and trendy you go with something else.
But you can be pretty sure that 99% of your users will expect you to be found on YourProductName.com, not on FirstTwoWordsOfYourProductName.LastWordOfYourProductName even if it makes the whole thing shorter and slicker

...and what if at some future point you decide to introduce "Free", "Home", "Plus" or "Gold" version of your software? SoftwareName.gold, really?

just my 2 cents

 

[Jurgen Wolf]

Note that .pro doesn't support whois privacy, which is something the .pro registry should work on.

You can activate Privacy for .PRO at:
1and1
NameCheap
internetbs.net
Epik
etc.

 

[Jurgen Wolf]

i prefer go with .com.. because you are going to flip as a website or products, it's easier to sell dot com than .pro to end user.

Another myth...
BEAM.PRO startup was purchased by Microsoft recently...

 

[dgmweb]

Thanks all for the feedback - definitely some good points on both sides. My target market to eventually flip the product & site to would be Internet Marketers, and of course include both domains.

 

[dgmweb]

You can activate Privacy for .PRO at:
1and1
NameCheap
internetbs.net
Epik
etc.

Yep, my .pro names all have privacy enabled.

 

[Jurgen Wolf]

3rd related live sample from me...
APPO.PRO - utils and hacktools...

 

[dgmweb]

Another myth...
BEAM.PRO startup was purchased by Microsoft recently...

That's a great site - like Twitch. I recently got back into game development so I can see myself spending too much time there... :P

 

[dgmweb]

Live example, popular Chrome extension: TabLayouts.PRO
They even don't own .com and are happy.

Yeah, this utility is awesome - makes my web developer gig a heck of a lot easier!

 

[Jurgen Wolf]

That's a great site - like Twitch. I recently got back into game development so I can see myself spending too much time there... :P

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beam_(website)