IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Entrepreneur's .net 100 ranking, featuring readers' favorite .net websites worldwide, showcases just how ubiquitous the .net domain has become with everything we do online—and how savvy entrepreneurs are using it to craft their success.

Mass consumer acceptance is one major factor in the upsurge of .net domain popularity. The other is entrepreneurship.  Entrepreneurs have helped to build the appeal of .net domain use by increasing adoption for their own popular brands. Startups are finding that, as one of the first Web domains, .net has the credibility that comes with experience to help grow their brands and compete online.

Research from Verisign reveals the continuing growth of .net – .net domain names are hosted in more than 200 countries worldwide, and the .net zone has doubled in size since 2006, surpassing 15 million domain names registered globally in 2013. This worldwide coverage, along with 100 percent uninterrupted availability for more than 15 years, has given entrepreneurs a reason to take notice when it comes to deciding their domain.

Internet-entrenched consumers, business owners, influencers and fans of all genres already visit millions of .net sites daily to benefit from business productivity tools and connect with favorite bands, news outlets and shopping sites. Entrepreneur's ranking of the top 100 successful .net sites, based on a formula that accounts for key success factors, such as online traffic and social influence, shows just that.

"Doing this ranking made it obvious to us that the .net domain is truly mainstream – and it can actually be a competitive advantage for entrepreneurs," says Raymond Hennessey, editorial director at Entrepreneur.com. "When we really looked closely at .net sites, we saw an eye-opening range of brands and businesses brimming with passionate followers. These already successful sites seemingly are a major driver behind why others are following suit when they're ready to register."

The top 15 powerhouses from the .net 100 ranking include the sites behind trendy and popular brands like Paramore, GeeksAreSexy, American Apparel and Bruce Springsteen, as well as core resources that business owners use to get work done, namely DocuSign and SlideShare.

"Being selected by Entrepreneur's readers as one of the top ten .net sites is a great honor for all of us at DocuSign," said Neil Hudspith, chief revenue officer, DocuSign. "It's a testament to how DocuSign's global eSignature transaction network has become the inevitable way for organizations of all sizes, industries and geographies to finish business faster."

The .net 100 ranking also includes sites that help entrepreneurs promote their services. Behance, at number four, shines in this light. The .net site provides an opportunity for artists to get their portfolios in front of companies looking to hire UX designers, illustrators and more. On the musical front, DJBooth, at number 15, makes it possible for both signed and unsigned bands to grow their fan base by uploading their latest tracks online for the community to review and recommend.

The top 15 sites from the .net 100 are as follows:

1. SlideShare.net
2. PHP.net
3. Battle.net
4. Behance.net
5. Speedtest.net
6. Explosm.net
7. SourceForge.net
8. AmericanApparel.net
9. Slickdeals.net
10. DocuSign.net
11. BoingBoing.net
12. Paramore.net
13. Geeksaresexy.net
14. BruceSpringsteen.net
15. DJBooth.net

To learn more about the sites on the .net 100, see the Top 15 feature in the February issue of Entrepreneur magazine or the full ranking online at entrepreneur.com/net100. You can also follow @EntMagazine and #net100 for the latest updates.

More About the .net 100 Ranking
The rankings for all .net 100 sites were based on a special formula developed by Entrepreneur that calculates online traffic, social influence and community voting. The process began with a list of the top-ranked sites with a .net domain as measured by Alexa.com. On Entrepreneur.com, visitors were able to nominate their favorite .net sites for consideration in the ranking. We then quantified the size of each site's social network, through their Facebook and Twitter-follower numbers. From there, we factored their social influence using each site's Klout.com score. During the nomination period, visitors were also able to vote for and rank their top 10 favorite .net sites. These votes were factored into the final formula applied to the rankings. All .net 100 sites were given a cumulative score based on the above factors, and the 100 .net sites with the highest cumulative scores became the .net 100.

About Entrepreneur Media Inc.
Entrepreneur Media Inc. is the premier content provider for and about entrepreneurs. Our products engage and inspire every day with the advice, solutions and resources that fuel the bold and independent way entrepreneurs think.

After 36 years, nobody reaches more growing businesses. As the original magazine for the small and midsize business community, Entrepreneur continues to be the definitive guide to all the diverse challenges of business ownership. Entrepreneur.com is the most widely used website by entrepreneurs and emerging businesses worldwide. Entrepreneur Press publishes the books that turn entrepreneurial skills into business success.

To learn more, visit entrepreneur.com.
To advertise, please contact us at entrepreneur.com/mediakit.
Follow us on Twitter at @EntMagazine, and like us on Facebook at facebook.com/entmagazine.

SOURCE Entrepreneur Media