Getting a .hr Domain – How and Why

Every website needs a top-level domain (TLD). That’s the piece of text that comes at the end of the web address. TLDs help to tell people about a website’s purpose or function. There’s .edu for educational institutions, for example, .org for organizations and non-profits, etc.

There are also country-specific domains, called ccTLDs, that are designated to individual countries. .hr is an example of this, and this guide explains what the .hr domain is, how to get one, and why you might need one.

Introducing the .hr Domain

As mentioned above, .hr falls under the umbrella of ccTLDs (country-code TLDs). Popular examples of ccTLDs are .ru, .fr, and .us (for Russia, France, and the United States, respectively). These codes are each assigned to specific nations and mainly designed for use within their respective nation - .ru is popular for Russian businesses and entities, for example.

So, what about .hr? This is the ccTLD for the country of Croatia. Croatia is called Hrvatska in its native language, hence the use of “H” and “R” as the two letters of this domain. CARNET, the Croatian Academic and Research Network, manages .hr domain registration, and the .hr domain is hugely popular within Croatia.

Croatian people see it as a sign of credibility and all major Croatian brands and businesses have .hr sites. To be more precise, there are over 135,000 .hr domains registered as of the time of writing, with more springing up all the time.

Rules and Restrictions – Can Anyone Get a .hr Domain?

Some ccTLDs come with rules about who can register them, and that’s the case for .hr. In other words, not everyone can get a .hr domain, as CARNET has a strict policy in place which states:

• Applicants must either have Croatian nationality, reside in Croatia, or, for businesses, be based in Europe with a European VAT number.
• Applicants also have to provide an ID of some kind, like an OIB number (a type of Croatian tax ID) as part of the application.
• There are restrictions on how many domains you can set up, too – 10 for businesses and only two for individuals.

However, there is a way around these rules, thanks to what’s known as a “trustee” service. A lot of domain name registrars offer trustee services, whereby they essentially act as your point of contact in Croatia to set up the site for you, in accordance with the country’s rules. But you still have full ownership and control over the domain.

How to Get a .hr Domain

If you meet all the relevant conditions for .hr domain registration, you shouldn’t have any trouble setting up your .hr site. And, as explained above, even if you’re not based in Croatia or even in Europe, you can still set up a site via a trustee. Here’s how:

1. Create the unique domain name you want to use.
2. Find a trusted registrar that offers .hr domain registration (with trustee service, if needed).
3. Run an availability check of the name you want.
4. As long as the name’s available, proceed with registration and pay the relevant fee(s) to confirm your new domain name.

Is It Worth Getting a .hr Domain? – The Advantages

Reasons to consider a .hr domain include:

Ideal for Croatian Brands and Individuals

Obviously, if you’re Croatian or based in Croatia, having a .hr website makes a lot of sense. The .hr ccTLD has really taken off well in Croatia and lots of people within the country naturally tend to type .hr at the end of web addresses and see .hr as a sign of trust.

Local SEO

.hr is handy for SEO in terms of appealing to the Croatian market. It might not help you generate much organic traffic elsewhere or rank highly on other international versions of Google, but if you want to appeal specifically to a Croatian audience, this is arguably the best domain to use.

Available

.hr is popular, but there are nowhere near as many .hr sites as there are sites with .com, .net, or any of the other very popular TLDs out there. As such, it’s a lot easier to get a .hr web address with the exact name you want to use, rather than being forced to change it or settle for some variation.

The Downsides of .hr Domains

There are a few drawbacks with .hr domains, too:

Lack of Relevance Beyond Croatia

The .hr TLD is great for Croatia but doesn’t hold as much sway anywhere else. In fact, beyond Croatia, a lot of people haven’t necessarily heard of .hr and won’t recognize it. You may struggle, then, to attract a lot of traffic from other places to your .hr site.

Rules and Restrictions Add Costs and Complications

As touched on, there are certain rules around .hr domain registration, which can make it a bit more complicated than other ccTLDs. And if you opt for a trustee service, you’ll usually have to pay an extra fee, so it may be cheaper to stick with a simpler, more generic, and accessible TLD instead.

Consider Registering Your .hr Website

If you’ve weighed the pros and cons and still feel a .hr site is right for you, then you can register yours today. All you have to do is find a trusted registrar, pick a name that hasn’t been taken, and you can get your .hr site up and running in no time.