Development is still a valid signal, but you need to dig a bit deeper.

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been analyzing my entire domain portfolio. One of the things I always look for is development on matching domains in other extensions.

Historically, that’s been one of the best signals you can get. If someone builds on an alternative version of your second level domain, there’s a decent chance they’ll eventually want to upgrade to the .com.

At first, I was encouraged because I found many more developed site matches for my domains than I did a year ago.

But as I started clicking through to them, I saw a pattern: SaaS products with a text logo in the upper left, a big headline, a product explainer, a few questionable testimonials, three pricing tiers, and FAQs at the bottom. There was no real team page information about who was behind the company.

It didn’t take long to realize what I was looking at. These are all vibe-coded sites.

This changes the weight I put on the signal.

In the past, building a product required real time, money, and commitment. If a company launched on your second level domain in another extension, it usually meant something was there. They spent months or years building the product; maybe they raised some money; at a minimum, they put a lot of time or money into it. That made them a credible future buyer.

Now, someone can spin up a polished-looking site in a day at essentially zero cost.

A lot of these are one-person projects with little time or money invested. Some may take off, but most won’t. With little up-front investment, the cost of walking away is minimal.

So, while development in alternative TLDs is still a positive signal, it’s not the home run it used to be. You need to dig a bit deeper and evaluate how serious the website really is.