What does the part after the final dot mean?¶

The ending is the top-level domain, or TLD: for example .com, .org, .uk or .online.

It helps identify the naming and registry system. It does not prove where the website is hosted, where the operator lives or who controlled it. A .uk service may be operated abroad; a .com service may be hosted anywhere.

The TLD can help identify the registered domain, but structures vary. In shop.example.co.uk the registered domain is normally example.co.uk, not co.uk.

Record unfamiliar spellings and endings exactly. Lookalike domains often rely on the reader silently correcting the address.