Domain and Site URLs

The NREL.gov domain is a key vehicle for the NREL brand. NREL domain requirements provide a logical and consistent approach to support NREL's reputation as a professional organization.

All URLs must be approved by the NREL.gov enterprise manager. Your communications representative can help guide you through the process.

Website URLs

We require that all NREL public websites use the NREL domain name www.nrel.gov in their URLs.

Websites should be located within a directory of www.nrel.gov. Sites on NREL are organized by topic which is used as the directory name. Here are some examples of this structure:

Bioenergy
www.nrel.gov/bioenergy/

Materials Science
www.nrel.gov/materials-science/

Careers
www.nrel.gov/careers/

Marketing URLs and Redirects

Marketing URLs are short, memorable URLs that are used to market and promote specific NREL websites. They are not domains, but are redirects that point to a website's standard NREL.gov URL.

Request a temporary redirect when system changes dictate an update to a site URL. For example, sites in the new content management system may have a new URL structure, and old site URLs remain in circulation, so a temporary redirect may be necessary.

Examples include:

www.nrel.gov/learning points to www.nrel.gov/workingwithus/learning.html

www.nrel.gov/awards points to www.nrel.gov/about/awards.html

Application URLs

URLs for web tools and applications can either follow the naming convention above or be assigned an NREL host name, such as application-name.nrel.gov. Examples include:

PV Watts Calculator
pvwatts.nrel.gov

Developer Network
developer.nrel.gov

Learn more about requirements for web applications.