Domain Names
YOUR address on the Web
100's of Domain Name Extensions
Nominet Registrar and TAG holder
What is a Domain Name?
Domain names represent your ‘place’ on the internet, your digital real estate. Whether it’s your business, your personal blog or an information site, you need to find it a home. The most commonly used domain name extensions in the UK are .co.uk, .uk, .com and .net. Whilst using the .co.uk and .uk domain names are the most favourable for organisations in the UK, other domain extensions can be used when they are already taken.
Which extension should I use?
For businesses in the UK, generally .co.uk and .uk are favoured extensions for the home audience, whereas if the business reach is further afield or global, then we would recommend using .com or maybe a .net extension. Charities and not-for-profit organisations can also use org.uk and .org. We can supply just about any of the available extensions (including the newer ‘descriptive’ domain extensions) but the most popular and search engine friendly are .co.uk, .uk, .com, .net, .me, .me.uk, .org.uk. and .org.
Domain Name Pricing
In line with our ‘easy pricing’ philosophy, domains are priced accordingly and what you see is what you pay. Domain prices are for each year of registration and renewals are charged annually at the same rate. A full list of domain extensions and prices can be found below.
Buy with Confidence…
Web 5 is a Nominet Approved Channel Partner and TAG holder
.uk
.co.uk
.org.uk
.me.uk
Domain Name Sourcing
If the domain name you desire is not available and you can’t find a good enough substitute, then please get in touch – we will probably be able to help!
Many domain names are held by traders and individuals but are not in use – often you can obtain the name you want by buying it on the ‘aftermarket’. Although this solution is not necessarily cheap, you will achieve your desired result.
Our sister site Name 5 is all about domain names.. whether we have something already that you’re looking for or you need some help sourcing a specific domain name, give us a try and see if we can help you get what you want.
More Information and FAQ’s
Domain name information, tips and useful links
How do I choose a domain name? - Top Tips!
- Keep your domain name as short as possible and simple – it needs to be memorable, and preferably not contain hyphens.
- Allowed characters – Domain names can only contain letters, numbers, and dashes. Spaces and symbols are not allowed. Domain names are not case sensitive.
- Choose a reputable domain name supplier. A company which has been around a while and is well known is a good bet. We’d also recommend choosing a company which provides a user interface so that you can manually edit your domain name details and manage all aspects of the domain.
- You should ensure that your domain name is not a commonly known brand name or trademark. Having the Limited Company does NOT entitle you to have the same name as a domain name – also check that there are no infringements with Trade Marks that need to be avoided.
- If you are buying a .co.uk domain name (e.g. yourwebsite.co.uk), try to also buy the other main TLD’s (Top Level Domains) for the same prefix (e.g. yourwebsite.com, yourwebsite.net). This will ensure that no-one else can come in at a later stage and capitalise on your brand name using another major domain name type. If you do a domain name search and find only the .co.uk is available for your chosen prefix, it may be worth your while choosing another domain name prefix where most or all of the TLD’s are available.
- It is possible that your business may grow into different areas of interest, or even change direction altogether. For this reason, it may be an idea not to make your domain name too specific to one area of your expertise. In some cases, the domain doesn’t necessarily have to contain words related to your industry or brand.
- Make sure you keep your contact information up to date. Although your domain name supplier is bound to contact you when a domain name comes up for renewal, it is YOUR responsibility to keep the records up to date.
- Some business may contact you to ask you to re-register your domain through them. Often these are scams – if in any doubt refer back to the company where you registered the domains.
- The name you choose can also assist you with SEO – look carefully at your market area and see if you gain an advantage with a ‘keyword’ name or phrase in your domain name.
- If you’re choosing a domain that’s been used before, check it’s history with wayback machine.
- If you’re looking to make money with the domain as a keyword, check how much the keywords are searched with Google tools.
Should I register the .co.uk or the .uk.. or both?
Since the arrival of the .uk extension there has been much debate in domaining circles as the legitimacy of this new extension. Whilst it is shorter and more convincing as a .uk domain TLD extension, the fact that .co.uk has been in existence for so long and generally people recognise it better means that at least in the short term the .co.uk extension is king. However as more big brands adopt the .uk and see it’s greater potential I’m sure we will see a swing towards the .uk as the main player in the uk domain space.
If the domain name you want is available as a .co.uk and a .uk then it would be best to get both – after all, you wouldn’t like to see someone take the other extension and then accidentally take some of your customers in the future!
If just one is available then there’s no reason why you can’t build your site on just one of the extensions – .co.uk or .uk, but do see what your ‘competition’ on the name is doing with their investment – if it’s undeveloped and inactive, you have a good chance of getting it ranked higher in search engines as you’ll be ‘first’ to the start line of SEO. Do check the history of the site on wayback machine to confirm inactivity previously.
What do I do if the domain name I want is already taken?
If the domain and extension you want is already taken, don’t give up!
Firstly see if there are any other extensions that will suit your purpose. As said before, try to keep to the main TLD’s of .com, .co.uk, .uk, .net, .org and .org.uk. But if they are not available.. what next?
Type the domain name you want into the browser and see if it’s being used already… and if so, what’s there? If there’s a fully fledged website doing something similar to you, you’ll have to think a bit more about your domain name choice.
Could a variant on the name be acceptable?.. Maybe try a prefix or suffix?.. check these out for inspiration – Prefixes and suffixes list.
If the domain you want is two words it is usually best to not go for the hyphenated version, but in certain circumstances it is acceptable. Generally a hyphenated name might have to compete with the non-hyphenated name in search engines and results can be confusing – although this can be minimised.
If you’ve exhausted all the options available to you then you might want to consider buying a domain name in the after market. There are many websites devoted to the sale of domain names and forums for the discussion of sales. Check out the links in the ‘useful links’ tab.
If you still can’t get what you want, contact us and let us help you find that elusive but essential domain name.
The domain name I want is registered but not in use... can I get it?
Sometimes domain names are registered and then forgotten about.
If the domain you want is registered but there’s no website and no sign of it on any after sales marketplaces it can sometimes be possible to acquire the domain name if it’s registration is not renewed and the domain ‘drops’. This means it becomes available to be registered again.
‘Drop-catching’ is an industry in itself and many domainers can sometimes be competing for the same domain name with programs to ‘catch’ a domain name the moment it becomes available to register.
If you think the domain you want is expiring soon and you’d like us to try and get it for you, contact us and we can arrange a ‘catch’ for you.
I’m buying a domain name from someone - how much should I pay?
Trying to estimate the price of a domain name is very difficult. However, there are historic records of domain prices and forums to visit to discuss values of domains.
Quite simply a domain is worth what someone will pay for it! Expect to pay £x,xxx for a short decent name or up to £xx,xxx for single word ‘keyword’ names. Usual prices for 2 word names with no specific keywords or uses can sell for low to mid £xxx’s. Premium domains have fetched up to £250,000, but this is domain royalty and buyers will use these as big multinational brands.
The value of a domain is affected by (amongst other things):
- The length of the word
- Market area
- Length of time the domain has existed
- Previous history of the domain (what has been there before)
- Is the site developed?
- Is there a big demand for this domain name?
Don’t be put off buying a domain name from someone else, but do be careful when purchasing. Use a 3rd party ‘Escrow’ service to ensure that you’re not out of pocket, negotiate the price and don’t accept the first BIN (buy it now) price offered to you.
Every month thousands of previously registered come back to the marketplace. Don’t be put off!.. If at first you don’t get the name you’re looking for… keep trying!… or contact us!
What about the latest non geographic ‘descriptive’ domain extensions?
The past few years has seen an explosion in the number of domain extensions available to register. In some cases they can be a great solution when other extensions are not available or the extension really makes sense to the business – for instance ‘amazing.catering’ will work if that is the name of the business. These domain extensions are generally more expensive to maintain and as they are reasonably new have not become popular with ‘mainstream’ brands and their websites. The newness of the extensions, their popularity and price also hints at possible future problems for the registers that created the extensions and their long-term viability. Whilst currently a ‘nice to have’ accessory, we would recommend a main site being built on a more popular domain extension.
Domain name useful links
Domain Name Authority Bodies
Domain Sales Sites
Domain Sales Records
Domain News Sites
Domain Name Research
News and Advice
Domain Forums
A UK Business
