Even though the ability to combine emoji domain names with all regular internet addresses is fascinating, there are many technical and legal hurdles that need to be overcome if you want to implement emoji URLs on a global scale while maintaining the same level of security and integrity of classic internet domain names. In fact, IDNs are a good workaround for the restrictions imposed by DNS characters. With their implementing, emoji URLs wouldn’t exist. Nevertheless, there are some disadvantages associated with emoji domain names.
On the one hand, there is the problem of the most prominent endings such as .com and .netnot supporting any emojis, and it is not clear whether they ever will. Instead, emoji URLs can only be implemented with certain country-specific domain extensions. Therefore, Coca Cola, for example, has already registered all its emoji names with the .ws domain extension, which is the official extension of Samoa. According to Coca Cola, the ending stands for 'we smile'.
On the other hand, browser support is still too unstable. Some browsers (or older versions of common browsers) don’t yet recognize emojis and many users don’t have an emoji keyboard, which needs to be installed beforehand. Even if an emoji domain registration is successful, many still won’t be able to access the site. This results in complicated usability, which is the biggest problem when it comes to emoji domains. While you can always enter the URL using a Puny-encoded version, the smiley URL’s playful character still comes across.
Suitable keyboards and plugins will one day be standard, but until then, emoji domains are a cool gimmick, which can be used as alternatives to the classic text URL, ensuring your website receives a lot of attention.