Domain Names

There were over 320 million domain names registered worldwide during the first quarter of 2016, according to figures from Verisign. With over 4 million new domain names being registered every month, it's important to register your ideal domain name while you still can. A domain name is your identity on the Internet and allows you to stand out from the crowd. A domain name portrays stability to your customers and gives them the impression that you're thinking to the future.

Order Form Moving a domain name to us Moving a suspended UK domain name Opting out of the whois database Detagged UK domain name

Moving a domain name

If you want to move an existing domain name to us in order to host your web site, we will not charge any extra if the name is a .uk domain name (unless it's due for renewal of course). Other types of domain names are subject to a transfer fee. For global domains, if you have not renewed your domain name in the last 45 days, the transfer will result in an extra year being added to the renewal date.

You may just want to point your existing domain name at one of our hosting packages and leave the domain name with a different provider. This is quite easy to achieve and all you need to do is select "Hosting only" on our order form. We will then send you the DNS settings that you will need to set your domain name to along with a temporary URL so that you can make sure your new site works before the transfer.

 

Types of domain name

There are many types of domain name available for a number of different purposes. Each type of domain name has specific rules which may limit it's use.

.uk

Many companies in the United Kingdom have chosen to use .co.uk domain names as this gives a clear signal that the company is either based in the UK or has a UK presence. Similarly, the same can be said about .org.uk domain names for UK based organisations. The domain registry for UK domain names is Nominet who are a private, not-for-profit company. As a Nominet member we are able to offer large discounts on domain name registration and renewal fees. Our prices are fully inclusive and we will not charge you anything for moving your .uk domain name to us.

.co.uk Rules

• Two letter names are not allowed.
• Two character names are allowed. e.g. 4x.co.uk.
• All top level domains are banned from being used as third level names. e.g. net.org.uk and org.co.uk are not allowed.
• All one character domain names (ie [a-z0-9].xxx.uk) are reserved for possible future sub-domain usage.
• There should be at least two name servers for the domain. These are supplied by ourselves for our web hosting clients.

• The co.uk domain is for the registration of names relating to commercial enterprises.
• No limitation is placed on the number of names that may be applied for.

.org.uk Rules

• The .org.uk second level domain is intended for organisations which do not 'fit' into any of the other Second Level Domains of the .uk Top Level Domain. These may include: charities, trades unions, political parties, community groups, educational councils, professional institutions, etc.

.ltd.uk and .plc.uk Rules

• One domain name per company name registered at Companies House
• The domain name shall correspond exactly to the registered name save for characters not in the "allowable" set and the "reserved" words. Where the definite article appears as the first word of the name it may be omitted.
• White space between words shall either be ignored or replaced by a single hyphen "-".
• All other characters shall be removed.
• Company names written in a non English character set are not allowed at present.

Trade Types
Please note that Organisations in Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man are classified as Foreign Organisations.

• UK Limited Company (LTD), Public Limited Company (PLC), Limited Liability Partnership (LLP), Industrial Provident (IP) - you should enter the registered name of the company or partnership as the Owner (or Ltd company) name. If you use a trading name, you should enter it in the 'Trading Name' field. You do not need to enter a trading name if you don't have one. You must enter the Companies House Registration Number.

• UK Individual (IND), Sole Trader (STRA), Foreign Individual (FIND) - you should enter your real name as the owner. A pseudonym or trading name alone is not sufficient. If the registration is made for an individual with a pseudonym, the preferred format is real name aka pseudonym. You are advised to fill in the 'Trading Name' field if you are a sole trader. It may be a breach of the Business Names Act for a sole trader to hide behind a trading name without disclosing his or her own name.

• Partnership (PTNR) - In the case of a partnership, you should enter the names of all the partners in the ‘Owner (or Ltd company) name’ field. If the partnership consists of more than 2 partners, enter the names of at least one of the partners followed by the words “and others” or “and partners” in the account name field.

• UK School (SCH) - If the registrant type is set to ‘UK school’ you should enter the DfES UK School number in the ‘Company / Charity No.’ field. This is required irrespective of the second level domain when the type is set to SCH.

• UK Registered Charity (RCHAR) - With a registered charity you should enter the registered name of the charity in the ‘Owner (or Ltd company) name’ field. If you also have a trading name, you should enter it in the ‘Trading name’ field. You should enter the Registered Charity Number in the ‘Company / Charity No.’ field.

• Foreign Corporation (FCORP) - In the case of a non-UK corporation you need to put the name of the corporation as the owner. FCORP should be used for a foreign registered company or business, whereas FOTHER would be the correct registrant type for a school or institution. If you have a trading name you should put it in the ‘Trading name’ field. You do not need to put a registered Company Number in the ‘Company / Charity No.’ field for a foreign company.

• OTHER,  FOTHER - If your registration type don't fit into any of the other categories, enter the name of the entity in the ‘Owner (or Ltd company) name’ field.  FOTHER would be the correct registrant type for a non-UK school or institution. If the registrant has a trading name you should put it in the ‘Trading Name’ field.

 

.com .net .org

These Global Top Level Domains (gTLDs) are aimed towards companies, organisations or individuals who don't wish to restrict themselves to a specific country. .com domains are aimed towards commercial use, .net was originally aimed towards Internet network providers and .org is aimed towards non-profit organisations.

The domain registry for .com, and .net domain names is Verisign. For more information please see their web site at http://www.verisigninc.com

• The allowable character set includes the letters 'a' to 'z', the numbers '0' to '9' and hyphen ('-').
• No domain name may start with a hyphen ('-').
• The minimum number of characters in a domain name is 2.
• The maximum number of characters in a domain name is 63.
• The entire .com, .net and .org name space is entirely public. This means that if the name space is available, you have the right to go ahead and register it. However .com is known for being the commercial name space, .net is known for the network name space and .org is known for the non-profit organisation name space.
• There should be at least two name servers for the domain. These are supplied by ourselves for our web hosting clients.

 

.info

In an effort to answer the growing demand for an increased quantity and variety of domains on the Web, Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) approved seven additional top-level domains (TLDs) including .info, .biz and .name.

The most attractive of the new domains is .info because universally, the Internet is synonymous with information and the new .info gTLD represents the same extensive benefits associated with ready access to greater volumes and higher quality information realized by Internet users worldwide.

The .info registry is an open one which means that .info is the only new unrestricted domain out of the seven new gTLDs approved. As the one 'true' alternative to .com, .net and .org, it is also expected to generate the largest demand in the marketplace which will foster the development of universal recognition and acceptance.

 

.biz

As the first Internet domain dedicated solely to the needs of businesses around the world, the launch of .biz represented an important milestone in the progress and development of the Internet. The global reach of the .biz registry and its essential role in defining future business success will translate directly into increased demand for domain names in this new arena!

 

.name

Reserved exclusively for individuals, .name is the global standard for personal communication. Get your .name today!

 

New global Top Level Domains

These new domain name extensions were created because it was becoming increasingly difficult to find an appropriate domain name. These new domain extensions should help you to create a relevant name that will define your web site, brand, organisation, or business. Registering a new global TLD that represents your market can increase customer trust and set you apart from competitors. Please see our full list of new global TLDs for more information.