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A new type of UK domain name gets closer

July 23, 2013 by Sam Barnes

Red phone box - new .uk domains{{}}In October last year, Nominet, the organisation that administers all domain names ending in .uk, announced that in addition to names like .co.uk and .org.uk, it was planning to offer domain names under ending just in .uk.

This would mean you could buy www.yourcompanyname.uk, for instance.

In the domain name industry this is called a second level registration. It's never before been offered in the UK.

Feedback received

Back last year, Nominet invited comments on its plan. And earlier this year, the organisation acted on that feedback, releasing this statement:

'Following our board meeting yesterday, we are not proceeding with our original proposal on ‘direct.uk’ but we will respond to feedback by looking at whether a revised proposal will address issues raised in the recent consultation.'

There’s no doubt that being able to register a domain under .uk is an attractive concept. After all, the USA has had .us, Japan .jp and China .cn for quite some time. The UK is behind the pack in that respect.

The shorter a domain name is, the more memorable it becomes. Dropping the .co from .co.uk would not only make the domain name itself shorter, but would also allow a more prominent affiliation with the UK marketplace.

Feedback understood

A key concern raised in the comments was that existing domain owners were not given priority.

This meant that if you already owned example.co.uk, you wouldn’t necessarily be able to secure example.uk. If you were running a business from your .co.uk domain, and one of your competitors purchased the .uk, there could be real issues.

The security features in the initial proposal were important too:

  • Respondents generally supported the idea that the addresses of domain owners should be validated. This should ensure that the person registering the domain name is who they say they are, making website owners more accountable for their domains.
  • However, the proposed daily malware scans - to check websites for security issues - are likely to be problematic. They would increase the cost of a .uk domain, and it would be hard to make them truly effective and foolproof.

A new domains plan

After reviewing all the feedback, Nominet released a new, revised plan for .uk domain registration.

The new proposal contains a number of processes to help alleviate any previous concerns:

  • All .uk registrations will be subject to an ‘enhanced check’. This is to ensure that the registrant is who they say they are.
  • A right of first refusal will apply to .uk domains. Existing owners of domains ending in .uk will be given first refusal on the new, equivalent second level .uk domain. If you own the .co.uk, but someone else owns the .org.uk or the .me.uk, the ‘oldest current, continuous registration’ will be given the right of first refusal.
  • Nominet will aim for a competitive price point. This is £5.50 for single year registrations and £4.50 per year for multiple year registrations. That's the wholesale price, so owners of domains would be likely to pay a bit more.

A further consultation on these revised plans will run until 23 September 2013, when we’ll no doubt hear about further feedback.

What would you say if you were going to have your comment? Would you like to own a .uk domain in the future?

Domains are changing

It’s an interesting time for the domain name industry. Not only is Nominet making changes, but the global domain market is changing.

Plans to create many new domain extensions - like .london, .nyc and .hotels - are well under way, and you'll see hundreds of these appearing in the coming years.

Against this background, there’s no doubt Nominet needed to make a move. Thankfully, that’s what they’ve done.

Sam Barnes is from Domain Monster.

Companies offering UK domain name registration:
Tagged domain name | 1 comment

Would you pay more for a secure. UK domain name?

October 01, 2012 by John McGarvey

Union flag bunting{{}}Nominet, the organisation that administers all domain names ending in .uk, has announced a proposal to create a new, shorter UK domain name extension. Quite simply, you could have www.yourbusiness.uk.

According to Nominet, the new extension would appeal to businesses looking for a shorter domain name.

They're right: a .uk domain name will be exactly three characters shorter than the equivalent .co.uk domain name. That'll save heaps of time.

A new level of security

But that's not the end of the story. Nominet also thinks these domain names could become regarded as trustworthy and secure, because they'll be taking some extra security precautions:

  • UK-only registrations. You'd have to prove you have a UK address before being allowed to register one of these new domains.
  • Malware scanning. All websites with the new domain name would be scanned daily to check they're not infected by malware.
  • Digital signatures. Domains would be digitally signed, to reduce domain hijacking, where someone steals your domain name.

These security elements would be combined under a 'trustmark' to reassure internet users.

In its FAQ about the proposals, Nominet reckons this new type of domain name could appeal to smaller companies:

"In particular, it could also encourage small to medium sized enterprises to take up an online presence."

But eagle-eyed readers will spot that these domains would cost significantly more than existing .co.uk domains. The wholesale price of each domain is expected to be up to £20 a year.

That's steep - a .co.uk domain costs £5 for two years. (Businesses typically pay more than the wholesale price, because domain name companies add a markup.)

A solution looking for a problem

At face value, the security argument looks a little flimsy. There's not much evidence to suggest internet users have big worries about the trustworthiness of existing UK domain names.

Nothing wrong with a belt-and-braces approach, of course, but McAfee's Mapping the Mal Web IV (PDF) research - admittedly a couple of years old - rated existing UK domains as low risk. It scanned just under 900,000 and found problems with less then 1%.

Nominet's own A Great Place to Be website even talks up the advantages of .co.uk domain names for business.

Inevitably, some will say the new domains are nothing more than a money-making scheme. Surely any business that already has a .co.uk domain will want to grab the .uk equivalent, if only to stop anybody else using it. That could get expensive for companies with several domain names.

What do you think? Would you pay extra for a slightly shorter domain name that's regularly scanned for problems? Would it make any difference at all to your company?

  • Learn more about the proposals and give your views on the Nominet website

Companies offering UK domain name registration:

Image of bunting: Dave_S. on Flickr

Posted in The internet | Tagged domain names, domain name | 0 comments
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