Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) are foreign-language domain names. Because of this, these domain names include non-ASCII characters. In other words, these domain names contain characters other than the Roman alphabet or typical digits. As such, they can contain characters from other languages in the domain name.
What is Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) Used For?
Internationalized domain names enable people around the world to use domain names in their local language. As such, IDNs are formed by using characters from different scripts, such as Arabic, Chinese, Cyrillic, or Devanagari.
This allows native speakers of non-Latin-based scripts to access the Internet in their own language. This then allows businesses to connect to their target market or customers no matter what language they speak or where they are in the world. The IDN program was instituted exactly for this purpose. It was to assist in the development and promotion of a multilingual Internet.
The program’s main focus is the planning and implementation of IDN top-level domains including country code top-level domains, and generic top-level domains. The program also supports projects that are geared towards the effective use of IDNs at the second level of the Domain Name System (DNS).
When it comes to IDNs, any business can register an IDN using their native language characters or ASCII characters, also referred to as standard Punycode characters. If the business uses the native language characters, the name is converted to Punycode or ASCII characters and it is registered in that way.
To see the characters in an IDN, it’s often necessary for users to adjust the language settings in their web browser. In some instances, it may also be necessary to install a language pack to see the domain name correctly.
If they don’t, the domain name will be displayed just like other normal domain names. It’s also important to keep in mind, that some domain names do not allow IDN registrations, so businesses should make sure that their chosen TLD or domain name has the ability to do so.
Why is Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) Important?
Because Internet use is rising globally, IDNs play a significant role to make the Internet available to more people, irrespective of their language or country.
