Most people would agree that any business, regardless of size, should have some sort of presence on the web. In general, it is best to have a website with your own domain and your own hosting, because this helps to legitimize your company in the eyes of consumers.

While there are certainly some smaller businesses that are willing to accept “free” websites under subdomains, this does not give off the same sense of professionalism has having your own domain. That said, some people may be intimidated by the prospect of designing and maintaining a full website.

And that’s where a .tel domain might be worth considering. Unlike conventional top-level domains (TLD), a .tel domain does not need conventional hosting and it is completely operated by Telnic. It comes with a default design that can be filled with basic contact information and other links.

This can prove useful to some businesses, but it should not be your only online presence on the web. The .tel website can be used to house basic contact information, but anything more comprehensive should be handled with a more conventional domain (like .com or .net) with more conventional hosting.