What types of domain names are available?
As a guide the following groups are called Top Level Domains (TLD). All domains must be in
one or another TLD. Some examples of the traditional Top Level Domains are:
- .com = commercial.
- .net = technology company (although this is changing as fewer .coms become available).
- .org = non profit organisation.
- .edu = educational institution.
Many more Top Level Domains are now available.
- ANYNAME.COM
This is an International commercial domain. It typically represents a company seeking a global identity.
. com domains are the most popular domain type in the world. No rules and restrictions apply.
- BUSINESSNAME.COM.AU
Popular amongst Australian commercial entities. Excellent if you wish to reach an Australian market.
Rules and Restrictions apply. Read more.
- ANYNAME.CO.UK
The domain space for England. Popular for organisations targeting the English marketing or wishing
to protect the UK equivalent of their domain name. No rules or restrictions apply.
- ANYNAME.CO.NZ
The domain space for New Zealand. Popular domain name for organisations wishing to protect the New
Zealand equivalent of their domain. No rules or restrictions apply.
- BUSINESSNAME.NET.AU
This is a popular Australian domain which typically represents a business wishing to reach the Australian
market. Rules and Restrictions apply. Read more.
- ANYNAME.NET
International commercial domain typically represents a company seeking a global identity. No rules
and restrictions apply.
- ORGANISATIONNAME.ORG.AU
Australian domain typically represents an Australian not-for-profit organisation. Evidence must
be supplied with your application. Rules and restrictions apply. Read more.
- ANYNAME.ORG
Popular international domain typically represents an International organisation or commercial entity.
No rules and restrictions apply.
Your domain name should be as close as possible to your registered business name or descriptive
of the field or industry in which you operate in so that your customers can find you quickly.
Here are some domain names you might be already familiar with:
|
Domain Name |
Business or Company Name |
|
amazon.com |
Amazon Books |
|
abc.net.au |
ABC - Australian Broadcasting Corporation |
|
travel.com.au |
The Travel Specialists Pty Ltd |
|
FlagtechWeb.com.au |
The Complete Web Solutions company. |
|
harrods.co.uk |
Harrods Knightsbridge Shopping Centre (UK) |
You can register the domain names most important to your business now, before anyone else. Later,
you can ask us to activate them, if you want to use it for your web site, email or e-commerce.
Note that for a com.au or net.au domain name you must have an ACN (Australian Company Number) or
a registered business name to proceed.
If you have ever thought that there may be a possibility of your business having a web site now
or at anytime in the future you need to register now to secure your online address. A small investment
for future protection.
What Type of Domain Name Should I Register?
This depends solely on who or geographically which market you are trying to reach with your web
site. You need to ask yourself whether your ultimate goal is to reach customers throughout the world
(globally) or do you wish to reach people within Australia or within a specific country?
If you wish to reach a global audience we recommend a Top Level Generic Domain name such as a .com,
.net or a .org. These are the 'original' domains and the most popular. Therefore you may
find that a high percentage of names are already taken.
If you wish to reach an Australian audience we recommend a .com.au, .net.au or a .org.au (non profit)
domain name. Note that some rules do apply and these Australian domain names
must be derived from a business or company and may not be generic.
If you wish to reach customers within a specific country then we recommend a country specific
domain name such as a co.nz (New Zealand) or a co.uk (United Kingdom). If you would like more information
on different international domain names please contact us.