Domain Name Registration

Q. Is my domain name available?
A. Use the boxes below to check the availability of your chosen domain name.

Q. How much does a domain name cost?
A. It depends on which domain name suffix (or TLD) you choose. Our prices below show the annual cost.

Please note that domain names are initially registered for a two year period, and then renewed every two years after that (or longer if you choose).

Q. What is included in the cost?
A. We will manage the entire registration process and further administration of the domain name. There are many complex settings to control when hosting a domain name, so we take care of everything and spare you all the technical gobbledygook.

Q. What are the ongoing costs?
A. Renewal fees are payable if you wish to keep the domain name active. You pay the regular domain name registration fee as it stands at the time of renewal. It is common practice to renew the domain registration every two years.

Q. What domain name should I register?
A. You should register the name under which you trade, or you should use a name related to your business or organisation's activities. We advise you to keep the name as short and simple as possible to avoid spelling mistakes, and try to make the domain name easy to remember.

Q. What is a domain name?
A. A domain name is your identity on the Internet e.g. yourname.com. Even if you don't plan to use it straight away, securing your domain name is an essential way of protecting your business identity. Certain rules apply to domain names:

• Use only letters, numbers, or hyphen (-)
• Domain names cannot begin or end with a hyphen
• .com, .net, .org and .info domain names cannot exceed 67 characters total
• .info and .biz domain names must have at least 3 characters not including .info or .biz
• Other domain names cannot exceed 22 characters, not including the extension
• Domain names are not case sensitive
• Domain names cannot include spaces
• .name domains must be in the format firstname.lastname

Q. What is a Top Level Domain (TLD)?
A. A top level domain is the suffix applied to a domain name e.g. goldenbelly.com, the domain name is goldenbelly and the top level domain is .com.

Q. What's the difference between .com, .co.uk, .net, .biz, .info, etc?
A. Not a lot really - it depends on your type of business and your personal preference.

• .com and .co.uk domain names are intended primarily for (but not limited to) commercial organisations and businesses
• .net domain names usually denote an Internet-based entity
• .biz domain names are intended primarily for businesses
• .info usually signifies a reference site containing information
• .org is intended for (but not limited to) non-profit making organisations, charities, clubs etc.
• .tv is popular for broadcasting and media organisations
• .name and .me.uk are for individuals
• .eu is a recent addition for organisations within the European Community

Q. Should I register a .co.uk or .com domain name?
A. UK domain names are useful as they signify that your website, business or organisation is specific to the UK. Domain names ending with .com have a non-geographic or global appeal and are often considered more prestigious, but you can still use them for the UK. You might even want to consider registering both the .co.uk and .com versions of the domain name.

Q. What domain features do you provide?
A. Here are the main features we offer when you register a domain name:

• Professional domain management and administration
• E-mail forwarding
• Web forwarding (3 types)
• Full DNS and nameserver control

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