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TON Sites, explained

How to open a .ton website, how to host one, and what the words on this site mean.

Guides

Guide · Intermediate

Host a TON Site

Register a .ton name, run a site behind ADNL or TON Storage, and point the name at it.

 Browse

Open a TON Site

Every listed site opens in your browser — no wallet, no extension. Pick one from the directory.

Glossary

TON Site
A website served over the TON network instead of the public internet. A .ton name points at it through a site DNS record.
ADNL
The TON network's addressing and transport layer. An ADNL address identifies the server a TON Site runs on — one server can host many names.
TON Storage
TON's file-sharing network. A site can be a static bundle stored there instead of a running server.
Bag ID
The identifier of a TON Storage bundle. A site record can hold a Bag ID instead of an ADNL address; such a site opens only while some peer is sharing the bag.
site record
The DNS record that makes a .ton name open as a website. It is the only record the gateway reads to open a site.
next_resolver
A DNS record that delegates a name's subdomains (e.g. nft.minter.ton) to another contract.
two-level subdomain
A name like blog.alice.ton, resolved through its parent's next_resolver.
RLDP
The protocol TON Sites use to carry HTTP over ADNL.
shared host
A server that holds 20 or more names in this directory — usually parked or for-sale pages. They go up and down together and are listed after independent sites.

General on-chain terms — wallet, jetton, NFT, DNS item — are in the tonscan.info glossary.

FAQ

Why won't a site open?

The gateway only relays: if the site's own server is offline, or no peer is sharing its TON Storage bag, there is nothing to relay. The error page says which step failed. The directory re-checks every listed site each week, so a site that stays down drops out.

Why is the first load slow?

The first request to a site has to find it on the TON network and open a connection — measured at 5–12 seconds for a cold render. After that the page is cached at the edge and loads like any other website.

How do I get my site into the directory?

Set a site record on your .ton name (an ADNL address or a TON Storage Bag ID). The weekly scan reads TON DNS names from the chain and lists the ones that answer. To pick your category, add <meta name="ton2web:category" content="blog"> to your page — see the hosting guide.

What does "shared host" mean on a site page?

That the site's server also answers for 20 or more other names in this directory — typically a parking or domain-sale service. It is still listed, after independent sites, so a busy parking server does not crowd them out.

Where do I see who owns a name, or when it expires?

On tonscan.info, the on-chain explorer. Every site page here links to it.