Afnic, the association in charge of .FR domain names, recently published its annual observatory on .FR activity. After two spectacular years (2020 and 2021), the "return to normal" observed in 2022 continues. However, this report highlights real and marked growth : .FR still enjoys a special place in the domain name market and continues to take market share from its historical competitor.

Sustaining the digital transformation and territorial anchoring

The milestone of 4 million .FR domain names was passed in December 2022, before falling back to 3,996,245 names in stock at 31/12/22, compared with 3,882,488 at 31/12/21. The stock rose back above 4 million by January 2023.

The creation of .FR domain names amounted to 753,412 in 2022 (vs. 776,514 in 2021), and remains well above the 2019 reference year, by 9%, thus confirming the sustainability of the digital transformation of businesses. After fluctuating between 600,000 and 700,000 per year until 2019, creations exceeded 700,000 in 2020 and have remained above this threshold ever since.

Above all, with growth of 2.9% (compared with 5.8% in 2021), .FR is performing well in relation to the local market, which is at +1.3% for all domains combined, but also in comparison with the European market, where growth in ccTLDs (excluding .UK) is +2%, and the global market, which does not exceed 2% growth (+1.9%).

Another important point: for the 6th consecutive year, .FR continues to gain market share (+0.6 points) over .COM, which has lost 0.5 points. The market share of .FR at the end of 2022 was 39.36% (compared with 38.75% at the end of 2021).

"We are particularly proud of the performance of .FR again this year, in a general context that shows a certain slowdown. This is entirely legitimate, as companies without websites are becoming rarer. Awareness-raising must continue by going out to meet them. This is a job that we are doing at Afnic, through various mechanisms, notably Réussir-en.fr," comments Pierre Bonis, Director General of Afnic.

Committed to the digital transformation of VSEs/SMEs with the Réussir-en.fr programme, .fr helps 20,000 small businesses each year to develop a controlled and independent online presence. The majority of VSEs/SMEs (source: Réussir avec le web 2022 survey) opt for a .fr domain, an inexpensive extension that rhymes with trust and proximity.

Conclusions and outlook for 2023

There are still many challenges to be met in 2023. One of the major challenges is to continue to raise awareness among the SMEs and craftsmen who are furthest away from digital technology. In addition, the digital transformation that began during the health crisis needs to be supported and accompanied in order to ensure that it continues to be a success.

Source : Les Infosstratèges