.app Domain Names and Progressive Web Apps are Transforming the Legal Industry, 0419 COBJ, Vol. 48, No. 4 Pg. 16
| Author | BY RB TEWKSBURY |
| Position | Vol. 48, 4 [Page 16] |
TECHNOLOGY IN THE LAW PRACTICE
BY RB TEWKSBURY
Two technologies you've probably never heard of are transforming the web and how we use it. Google's new top-level domain, .app, provides peerless security and speed by default. In combination, progressive web apps are the most significant advance in mobile web technology since Apple's release of the iPhone in 2007.
On March 26, 2018 Google began rolling out its mobile-first index, saying it has "started migrating sites that follow the best practices for mobile-first indexing."1 Google's estimated share of the global search engine market is 77.7%.2 It is also the largest recipient of online advertising dollars, with an estimated 37% share—$42 billion—of the total online ad spend in 2018.3
Law firms that lack a mobile-first web strategy are at a competitive disadvantage to firms that fully embrace mobile. Secure top-level domains like. app, along with progressive web apps, are replacing traditional websites and native mobile applications. This is where the web is heading next.
.app Domain Names
There are more than 1,500 top-level domains (TLDs) available for registration.4 The most common TLDs include .com, .net, and.org. There are country code TLDs like .us for the United States, restricted TLDs like .gov for the U.S. Government, and several attorney-related TLDs, including .abogado, .associates, . attorney, .law, .lawyer, and .legal.
Now there's .app,5a new unrestricted TLD backed and managed by Google.6According to Google Tech Lead and Senior Software Engineer Ben McIlwain, .app is "the world's first entirely secure, all-HTTPS, open top-level domain."7 It is an excellent TLD choice for attorneys, offering better user experience opportunities and private, secure attorney-client communications.
Google explains: "A key benefit of the .app domain is that security is built in, for both you and your users. The big difference is that HTTPS is required to connect to all .app websites, helping protect against ad malware, tracking injection by ISPs, and spying on open WiFi networks. Because .app is the first TLD with enforced security available for general registration, it's helping move the web to an HTTPS-everywhere future in a big way."[8]
In February 2015, Google paid a then record-setting $25,001,000 to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)9for the registry rights to the .app TLD.10The company launched .app at Google I/O2018.11
Domain Name Wire posted on May 7, 2018 that "GoDaddy VP Paul Nicks confirmed to DNW that .App is its biggest new top level domain launch to date in terms of pre-orders at the registrar. Every day of early access has beaten the same day of other new TLD early access periods, and it has more pre-orders than any other domain."12 More than 250,000 .app domains were registered in the first month of availability.13
Domain names are not purchased. Rather, they are registered from registrars who either own the rights to a specific TLD or acquire those rights from the owner. Think of registrars like retailers. These retailers get their TLDs from wholesalers called registries. The registries acquire their rights directly from ICANN.
As with other TLD extensions like .com or .lawyer, your desired .app domain name may already be registered. Do not wait. Even if you have no intention of building a progressive web app anytime soon, it's a good idea to secure your .app domains now. New domain names can be registered at Google,14 GoDaddy,15 Do-nuts,[16]Hexonet,17and most other domain registrars. Domain name registration fees vary by registrar, so it pays to shop around.
Mobile Applications
Mobile apps are designed and optimized to run on mobile devices, including smart phones, tablets, and watches. The web and our mobile devices have changed...
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