Understanding Internationalized Domain Names (IDN)

Internationalized Domain Names allow domains to include characters beyond basic ASCII letters — accented characters, or entirely different scripts like Cyrillic or Chinese.

How It Works Technically

Since the core domain system only supports ASCII, IDNs are converted behind the scenes into a special ASCII-compatible format called Punycode (prefixed with "xn--"), which is what actually gets registered.

Why It Matters for French-Canadian Businesses

A domain like café.ca is technically registrable as an IDN, letting you use accented characters that matter for correct French spelling, though many businesses still choose an accent-free version for broader compatibility and easier typing.

Further Reading

• Contact Our Domains Team
• Business Email Plans
• ICANN