How to Get an Estonian .ee Domain Name

One of the biggest choices you have when setting up a new website is this: which domain name should you choose? There are numerous options, and while many people head straight for the usual suspects, like .com and .net, others seek more unusual or alternative domain names instead. Like .ee, for instance.

But what is .ee, and how do you register a .ee address? This guide explains all you need to know.

What Is .ee?

First, a quick explainer: .ee is what is known as a country-code top-level domain, or ccTLD. ccTLDs are domain names that are associated with specific countries across the globe. Every country has one, and certain territories and regions also have their own ccTLDs.

The domain .ee is the ccTLD for the European nation of Estonia. Located in Northern Europe, this Baltic nation has more than 1.4 million inhabitants, and the .ee extension was created for them. It was designed for Estonian people and businesses to set up their websites.

However, as time has gone on, as with a lot of other ccTLDs, the appeal of .ee has broadened, and now, people from other parts of Europe, as well as countries like the U.S., Canada, Australia, and others have all set up their own .ee domain names.

How to Get a .ee Site

Statistics show that there are well over 1.5 million .ee sites in action today, and .ee is close to breaking into the top 100 TLDs. If you’d like to be a part of the .ee revolution, you can set up your own site quite easily, as there are no strict rules about who is or isn’t allowed to register this extension.

You don’t need to live in Estonia, do business there, or have any links with the country whatsoever to obtain your .ee web address. All you need to do is follow these easy steps:

1. Decide on a website address you wish to use.
2. Check that your address is available with the .ee extension using an online availability checker.
3. Find a trusted .ee domain registration service to help you claim your .ee site.
4. Enter your details, pay the necessary fees, and claim your site.

You can register a .ee site for a minimum period of one year or several years, whichever you prefer. But you’ll need to remember to renew before your ownership expires. Otherwise, you risk losing your site to someone else.

Also, note that more and more .ee sites are registered each day. So, if you have a specific name in mind and don’t want to lose it, it’s best to act fast and get it registered right away.

Uses of the .ee Domain

Next, let’s take a look at some interesting use cases for the .ee domain to see which people or brands might like to set up a .ee site of their own.

• Estonian Entities: Obviously, one of the main uses of the .ee domain is for people who are based in or operate their businesses in Estonia. Having a .ee helps you gain trust with the Estonian audience and have a better chance of ranking highly on Estonian search engine results pages.
• Domain Hacks: The other big use for the .ee domain is in domain hacks, which are site addresses that use the letters of the domain in some clever or quirky way. A famous example is linktr.ee, which uses the .ee domain to form part of its brand name.
• Availability: Most popular domain names have availability issues. It’s very hard to get the exact .com name you want, for example, since so many are already taken. But, with a less popular extension, like .ee, it’s much easier to claim your desired name.
• A Quirky Option: Lastly, you might also want to consider .ee simply if you’re seeking something a bit out of the ordinary. So many people have .net or .com addresses, but having a .ee extension could be the X factor that helps your site stand out.

So, if any of those use cases fit your situation, and if the .ee domain sounds right to you, why wait? Work with a trusted registrar today to claim ownership of your .ee website in a matter of minutes.