A domain hack is a domain name that uses the dot as part of the word itself: del.icio.us, blo.gs, youtu.be, redd.it. The TLD stops being a suffix and becomes the punchline. The trick is two decades old — and thanks to one abandoned website, nobody has written a fresh guide to it in years.
That website was Domainr, the beloved hack-search tool launched in 2012 by Roundarch (later Deloitte Digital). Domainr made finding hacks fun — type a word, watch it split across TLDs in real time. The consumer product was wound down, the API went quiet, and since then: zero fresh content. Every "domain hack" listicle ranking today is a fossil from 2014. This page fixes that — 50 real, verifiable domain hacks, the TLDs hackers actually use, and how to hunt your own hack and check it live right now.
The 50 domain hacks that matter
Every entry below is a real domain that existed (or still exists) — no made-up examples. Click any one and you'll find its history.
The pioneers
1. del.icio.us — the hack that started it all. Social bookmarking pioneer Delicious, founded by Joshua Schachter in 2003, acquired by Yahoo! in December 2005. The name spelled "delicious" across .us.
2. blo.gs — Jason Kottke's early-2000s RSS blog directory, riding the blog boom before Google Reader existed.
3. ma.tt — Matt Mullenweg's personal blog — the WordPress co-founder's surname finished by Trinidad and Tobago's .tt.
4. cr.yp.to — crypto news and data, spelling "crypto" across .to (Tonga).
5. who.is — the domain-lookup service, turning Iceland's .is into the verb.
6. exa.mple — the canonical illustration hack, and proof the pattern works for any word ending in the right letters.
7. telegra.ph — Telegraph's anonymous publishing platform (2016), a hack hiding in plain sight on the Philippines' .ph.
8. so.cl — Microsoft's social-networking experiment (2012–2017), built on Chile's .cl.
The URL shorteners
9. bit.ly — Bitly, founded 2008, made .ly (Libya) the startup TLD of the 2010s.
10. j.mp — Bitly's even shorter alternate on North Macedonia's .mp.
11. goo.gl — Google's URL shortener, launched December 2009, retired for new links in 2018.
12. t.co — Twitter's (now X's) mandatory link wrapper, launched 2010; every link you post still routes through Colombia's .co.
13. ow.ly — Hootsuite's built-in shortener.
14. buff.ly — Buffer's shortener, spelling "buffly" — a hack inside a brand name.
15. is.gd — the minimalist free shortener on Grenada's .gd.
16. git.io — GitHub's official URL shortener for code links.
17. x.co — GoDaddy's short domain for links and redirects.
Social platforms
18. youtu.be — YouTube's official short links (Google, 2009). The .be is Belgium.
19. fb.me — Facebook's short domain.
20. m.me — Facebook Messenger; m.me/username opens a chat directly.
21. ig.me — Instagram's short domain for Messenger-linked profiles.
22. instagr.am — Instagram's alternate, completing the brand on Armenia's .am.
23. wa.me — WhatsApp's click-to-chat links, on Montenegro's .me.
24. lnkd.in — LinkedIn's shortener on India's .in.
25. redd.it — Reddit's official shortener; i.redd.it and v.redd.it serve its images and video.
26. pin.it — Pinterest's short links on Italy's .it.
27. dai.ly — Dailymotion's "daily," on Libya's .ly.
28. gph.is — GIPHY's shortener on Iceland's .is.
29. spoti.fi — Spotify, finishing the brand on Finland's .fi.
News publishers
30. nyti.ms — The New York Times, on Montserrat's .ms.
31. wapo.st — The Washington Post, on São Tomé and Príncipe's .st.
32. gu.com — The Guardian's short domain (a rare .com hack — "gu" + .com).
33. econ.st — The Economist.
34. reut.rs — Reuters, on Serbia's .rs.
35. apne.ws — The Associated Press, on Samoa's .ws.
36. abcn.ws — ABC News.
37. politi.co — Politico.
38. ti.me — Time magazine, on Montenegro's .me.
39. n.pr — NPR, on Puerto Rico's .pr.
40. yhoo.it — Yahoo, on Italy's .it.
Tech, tools and shopping
41. g.co — Google's official short domain.
42. a.co — Amazon's short links.
43. amzn.to — Amazon's longer shortener on Tonga's .to.
44. itun.es — Apple's iTunes link shortener on Spain's .es.
45. be.net — Behance, Adobe's creative network ("be" + .net).
46. disq.us — Disqus, the commenting platform.
47. flic.kr — Flickr's official photo short links.
48. cl.ly — CloudApp's file-sharing links on Libya's .ly.
49. d.pr — Droplr's file links on Puerto Rico's .pr.
50. img.ly — the Twitter-era image host that rode the .ly wave.
The TLDs hackers use most
Domain hacks run on country-code TLDs — short, pronounceable endings that complete English words. These are the workhorses, with real examples from the list above:
TLD | Country | What it spells | Real hacks using it |
|---|---|---|---|
.ly | Libya | -ly adverbs | bit.ly, ow.ly, buff.ly, cl.ly, dai.ly, img.ly |
.it | Italy | "it" pronoun | pin.it, yhoo.it |
.me | Montenegro | "me" pronoun | m.me, ig.me, ti.me, wa.me |
.is | Iceland | "is" verb | who.is, gph.is |
.to | Tonga | "to" preposition | amzn.to, cr.yp.to |
.am | Armenia | "am" verb | instagr.am |
.in | India | "in" preposition | lnkd.in |
.be | Belgium | "be" verb | youtu.be, be.net |
.st | São Tomé and Príncipe | -st superlatives | wapo.st, econ.st |
.us | United States | "us" pronoun | del.icio.us, disq.us |
.ms | Montserrat | -ms endings | nyti.ms |
.fi | Finland | -fi endings | spoti.fi |
.ws | Samoa | "ws" / "news" | apne.ws, abcn.ws |
.rs | Serbia | -rs endings | reut.rs |
.ph | Philippines | -ph endings | telegra.ph |
Browse live pricing for every one of these on the TLD price list — compare first-year vs renewal before you commit, because hack-friendly ccTLDs renew at wildly different rates.
The honest trade-offs (read before you register)
Hacks are memorable, but they carry real quirks the 2014 listicles never mentioned:
Factor | Domain hack | Plain .com |
|---|---|---|
Availability | Far better — the namespace is barely picked over compared to ~160M registered .coms | Exhausted for short English words; aftermarket prices |
Memorability | Excellent when the split is clean (del.icio.us, youtu.be); terrible when forced | Familiar default everyone types correctly |
SEO | Google treats generic-feeling ccTLDs like .io, .co and .me as gTLDs (no geo penalty); others default to their country's search results unless you set geotargeting in Search Console | No geo-targeting questions at all |
Sovereign risk | Real: in October 2010 the Libyan registry seized the link shortener vb.ly for violating local content rules — your hack lives under another country's laws | US-administered, comparatively stable policy |
Word of mouth | "Visit youtu dot be" confuses non-technical users; the dot placement is unintuitive spoken aloud | Everyone understands "dot com" |
Email | you@spoti.fi works, but expect typos and spam-filter suspicion on exotic TLDs | Zero friction |
The pattern from the hall of fame: hacks work best as shorteners, campaign domains, and side projects — exactly how YouTube, Amazon, and the news giants use them — while the flagship brand keeps its .com.
How to find your own domain hack (and check it live)
With Domainr gone, here's the manual method that still works in 2026:
1. Start from the ending. List the word-endings your brand could use — -ly, -it, -me, -is, -to, -am, -in, -be, -st, -us, -fi, -es, -sh, -do — then work backwards to the word. "Clever" + .ly, "read" + .it, "hire" + .me.
2. Mind the pronunciation trap. Say it aloud as "word dot TLD." If a listener can't reconstruct the spelling, it's a party trick, not a brand.
3. Check the registry rules. Some hack TLDs have local-presence requirements or content restrictions (the vb.ly seizure is the cautionary tale). The TLD list shows which extensions are open worldwide.
4. Check every candidate live. Run your shortlist through search across all TLDs — it checks availability across 900+ extensions at once, so you can test "clever.ly" against every alternative ending in one pass instead of 50 registrar tabs.
5. Grab the .com too if it's cheap. The giants' playbook — hack for the clever link, .com for the front door.
FAQs
What is a domain hack?
A domain name that uses the top-level domain as part of the word — del.icio.us, blo.gs, youtu.be, redd.it. The dot becomes part of the spelling instead of just a separator.
Are domain hacks good for SEO?
The hack itself neither helps nor hurts rankings. What matters is the TLD's geo-targeting: Google treats some ccTLDs (.io, .co, .me) as generic, while others (.ly, .it, .be) default to their country's search results. Set your geotargeting in Google Search Console if you use a country TLD for a global audience.
Who invented domain hacks?
The pattern took off with del.icio.us (Delicious, 2003) and blo.gs in the early 2000s, and the tool Domainr (launched 2012) made hunting them mainstream before it was wound down.
Do domain hacks cost more than .com?
It depends entirely on the ccTLD — some hack-friendly extensions register for under $10/year, others cost $30–$80+. Compare live first-year and renewal prices on the TLD price list before registering.
Is it risky to build on a country's TLD like .ly?
There's genuine sovereign risk: in October 2010 Libya's registry seized the vb.ly shortener over content rules, killing every link overnight. Most hacks never face this, but it's why big brands use hacks for short links while keeping the .com flagship.
Can I still find a good domain hack in 2026?
Yes — the namespace is far less picked over than .com. Work backwards from TLD endings, say candidates aloud, and check availability across 900+ TLDs at once with Nomlen's all-TLD search.
What's the most famous domain hack ever?
del.icio.us — Delicious's original domain — is the consensus answer, followed by blo.gs and, in the modern era, youtu.be. All three proved a hack can carry a mainstream brand.
Try it: Try the domain hack finder to build clever split-word domains around your own name.
