Example.com
Reserved Internet domain name
title: "Example.com" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["domain-name-system", "placeholder-names", "internet-properties-established-in-1999"] description: "Reserved Internet domain name" topic_path: "technology/networking" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Example.com" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Reserved Internet domain name ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox website"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | example.com |
| logo_size | |
| logo_caption | |
| screenshot | Exampledotcom 2025.png |
| collapsible | |
| collapsetext | |
| background | |
| screenshot_size | |
| caption | Screenshot of example.com |
| url | |
| type | Reserved domain |
| language | English |
| content_license | |
| owner | Internet Assigned Numbers Authority |
| author | |
| editor | |
| launch_date | |
| current_status | Online |
| ipv6 | Yes |
| :: |
| name = example.com | logo = | logo_size = | logo_alt = | logo_caption = | screenshot = Exampledotcom 2025.png | collapsible = | collapsetext = | background = | screenshot_size = | screenshot_alt = | caption = Screenshot of example.com | url = | type = Reserved domain | language = English | num_users = | content_license = | owner = Internet Assigned Numbers Authority | author = | editor = | launch_date = | revenue = | current_status = Online | footnotes = | ipv6 = Yes The domain names example.com, example.net, example.org, and example.edu are second-level domain names in the Domain Name System of the Internet. They are reserved by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) at the direction of the Internet (IETF) as special-use domain names for documentation purposes. The domain names are used widely in books, tutorials, sample network configurations, and generally as examples for the use of domain names. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) operates websites for these domains with content that reflects their purpose.
Purpose
The domains example.com, example.net, example.org and example.edu are intended for general use in any kind of documentation, such as technical and software documentation, manuals, and sample software configurations. Thus, documentation writers can be sure to select a domain name without creating naming conflicts if end-users try to use the sample configurations or examples verbatim. The domains may be used in documentation without prior consultation with IANA or ICANN.
In practice, these domain names are also installed in the Domain Name System with the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses for Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) and IPv6 of a web server managed by ICANN. The domains are digitally signed using Domain (DNSSEC).
The zone files of each domain also define one subdomain name. The third-level domain name www resolves to the IP addresses of the parent domains.
History
The second-level domain label example for the top-level domains com, net, and org have been reserved and registered since at least 1992. The IETF established the authority of this use in 1999.
In 2013, the status and purpose of the domains was restated by the IETF as belonging to a group of special-use domain names.
In 2025, the domain received a minor update to its appearance and content when visited over HTTP(S).
References
References
- "IANA WHOIS Service". [[IANA]].
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::