In the past 12 months we have seen ICANN open up domain registrations to include pretty much any TLD going. For years we have been stuck with the same old boring TLDs, you know the ones – .com, .net, .org, and so on, but now you can register a domain for pretty much any purpose of industry such as .hotel, .builders, .house, the choices are virtually limitless. In light of this, Nominet, the company responsible for managing the .uk namespace, has opened up the .uk TLD for registrations for the first time.
This has provided businesses with the opportunity to drop the unnecessary .org, .co, and .me, extensions, amongst others, from their web addresses and has opened up the market for a whole range of new registrations.
Shorter, more memorable address
One of the biggest benefits of registering a .uk domain is that it provides the potential to develop a more memorable address that is shorter. Previously all UK domain registrations had to have a suffix preceding the .uk TLD, such as .co for company and .org for charitable organisations, which would obviously add unnecessary length to a website address.
There will also be more choice with the .uk domain as it is only now being introduced, whereas the original .UK domain and its subsidiaries were originally introduced in 1985 and as they have garnered over 10 million registrations in this 29 year period, choice was becoming increasingly limited.
More choice means more potential for shorter addresses, and coupled with the shorter .uk TLD enables you to create an address that will be easier for visitors to remember.
Having access to a wider pool of potential domains provides you with the opportunity to gain a competitive advantage and boost your customer numbers by assuming a domain that is shorter than your existing one and could prove to be more fruitful when used as part of advertising campaigns. You should never view your web address as just a means of accessing your website, rather you should view it as part of your brand as an integral part of how your customers perceive your business when visiting you online.
Who can register .UK domains?
The rules regarding .uk domain name registration differ a bit to those of the existing TLDs. Under an approach known as Grandfathering, the .uk equivalents of .co.uk, .org.uk, and .me.uk domains have been reserved for registration bu the owners of the existing domains; the following conditions apply:
» If a .co.uk domain was registered before 28th October 2013, the owner will have automatic rights to the .uk equivalent
» If a .org.uk domain was registered before 28th October 2013 and the .co.uk equivalent is available, the owner of the .org.uk domain will be given default rights to the .uk equivalent
» If a .me.uk domain was registered before 28th October 2013 and both the .co.uk and .org.uk equivalents are available or were registered after this date, the owner of the .me.uk domain will be given default right to the equivalent .uk domain.
These rules are set to be in place for 5 years, after which all .uk domain names will be opened up for registration by anybody. As is the case with any domain name registration in the UK, a UK address is required to complete the process.
So, where do I register my .UK domain?
Head over to our website now to snap up your UK domain name! If you already have a web hosting plan with us then we can help you to setup your new domain name with your existing website.
