History of the TLD

The .recipes top‑level domain was created under ICANN’s New gTLD Program and was delegated to the DNS Root Zone in late 2013. It was introduced to provide a dedicated namespace for culinary and food‑related content, enabling websites to use an extension that clearly reflects recipe and cooking themes. The registry has been managed by Donuts Inc. and is currently under the Identity Digital registry portfolio.

Main Use and Industry Position

.recipes is a generic TLD intended for websites focused on recipes, cooking content, food blogs, culinary businesses, chefs, home cooks, and food communities. It serves as a niche extension that communicates the site’s focus on culinary content and distinguishes it from generic commercial or organisational names. This positioning supports branding and relevance for food and recipe‑related digital properties.

Comparison to Other TLDs

Compared with legacy TLDs like .com and .net, .recipes offers more descriptive context for culinary content, helping with relevance and audience recognition. Relative to broader food and beverage TLDs such as .food or .cooking, .recipes emphasises recipe sharing and culinary instruction specifically, which can be more targeted for content creators and businesses centred on recipes. Its niche focus enhances thematic signalling but is less general than extensions suited for broader commercial use.

Pros and Cons of the TLD

Pros

• Clearly conveys a culinary and recipe‑focused theme

• Suitable for food bloggers, chefs, culinary brands and platforms

• Unrestricted registration available to global audiences

Cons

• Niche focus may limit appeal outside food and cooking content

• Registration and renewal costs may be higher than generic legacy TLDs

• Less widely recognised by general audiences compared with extensions like .com
  
  

Registration Criteria

Registration of .recipes domains is open to any individual or organisation without special requirements or qualifying credentials. Standard domain registry rules apply with no industry‑specific eligibility constraints.

Summary

.recipes is an active generic top‑level domain established under ICANN’s New gTLD Program that provides a dedicated online space for recipe and culinary‑centric websites. With unrestricted registration and a clear thematic identity, it enables domain owners to signal their food‑related purpose and enhance branding within the cooking and recipe community.