IDN (Internationalized Domain Name) allows domains in non-Latin scripts. 可口可乐.中国 (Coca-Cola.China) or مثال.السعودية (example.Saudi). 7.2% of global domains now IDN.
What Are IDNs
Standard domains use ASCII (A-Z, 0-9, hyphen). IDNs use Unicode - supports Arabic, Chinese, Cyrillic, Devanagari, Thai, and 100+ scripts. Enables native-language domains for non-English markets.
Technical Format
Browser displays Unicode (可口可乐.中国). But DNS system uses ASCII. Converted via Punycode: "xn--fsq270a.xn--fiqs8s". Users see Unicode, systems see Punycode.
Punycode Conversion
Automatic. Register domain in native script. Registrar converts to Punycode for DNS. Both versions resolve to same site. Users never see Punycode.
Supported Scripts
Arabic, Armenian, Bengali, Chinese (Simplified & Traditional), Cyrillic, Devanagari (Hindi), Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Japanese (Katakana/Hiragana/Kanji), Korean (Hangul), Tamil, Telugu, Thai. 120+ total.
Script restriction: Can't mix scripts in single domain. "مثال.com" (Arabic + Latin) invalid. Must be "مثال.السعودية" (all Arabic) or "example.com" (all Latin).
IDN ccTLDs
.中国 (China), .рф (Russia), .السعودية (Saudi Arabia), .ไทย (Thailand), .இந்தியா (India). Local-language TLDs for country domains. Normal ccTLD registration rules apply.
Email Support
Email addresses with IDN domains (user@可口可乐.中国) technically valid since 2012. But many email systems don't support. Test before using as primary business email.
Browser Compatibility
All modern browsers support IDN (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge). But older versions (pre-2015) may not. In 2025, compatibility no longer an issue for 99% of users.
Phishing Concerns
Browsers display IDN Punycode if it looks like phishing. "аррӏе.com" (Cyrillic letters resembling "apple") displays as "xn--80ak6aa92e.com" in browser. Anti-spoofing measure.
SEO Performance
Google indexes IDN domains normally. Chinese domain ranks in Chinese Google, Arabic domain ranks in Arabic Google. Local-language domain provides slight SEO boost in native market.
IDN SEO advantage: 8-12% higher CTR in native language searches. User sees search query in Chinese, result domain in Chinese = cognitive match = more clicks.
Registration Cost
Same as regular domains. Arabic .com costs same as English .com. IDN ccTLDs vary (some more expensive due to local registry policies). £8-30/year typical.
Marketing Considerations
IDN perfect for markets that speak non-Latin language. But limits cross-market usage. Chinese domain not memorable for English speakers. Usually register both Latin (.com) and native IDN.
Character Restrictions
No spaces, no emojis (despite Unicode support), no mixing scripts. Length limits same as ASCII (63 characters max, but some scripts count multiple bytes per character).
Use Cases
Best for: Local businesses in non-Latin markets, country-specific sites, native language branding. Not ideal for: International brands, English-speaking markets, B2B tech (lower adoption).
Trademark Lens checks ASCII domain availability - if targeting non-Latin markets, register ASCII version first, then add IDN version for local marketing.