Alkazar Internet

A Web Address (Domain Name) is the Internet equivalent of your business address - except it is online. On the Internet, your Web Address is how people get to your web site or send you e-mail.

Here are some examples of how a domain name is used.

Alkazar.co.uk	The Alkazar domain name
http://www.alkazar.co.uk	The Alkazar web site
enquiries@alkazar.co.uk	One of our e-mail addresses

Why do I need a domain name?

Have you ever tried to find J. Bloggs Accountants in London? London is a big place, and without an address, it would be almost impossible to find anything. Now imagine the Internet, it spans the entire globe. Wouldn't it be easier for your customers to find you if you actually had an address?

When you sign up with Alkazar Internet, we will give you a free e-mail address at Alkazar, i.e., jbloggs@alkazar.co.uk. Not only would it look more professional if you had your own address, e.g., enquiries@jbloggsaccountants.co.uk, but it also means that you can keep your address indefinitely. If you decide to move to a different ISP, you can take your domain name with you and avoid changing stationery, letting your customer base know, etc.

How do I choose my domain name?

Let's say your company is called "J.Bloggs Accountants". What you could register is:

J-Bloggs.co.uk
J-Bloggs-Accountants.co.uk
J_Bloggs.co.uk
J_Bloggs_Accountants.co.uk
JBAccountants.co.uk
JBA.co.uk
JBloggsAccountants.co.uk

But ONLY if no-one else has registered the same name

Also, if you register one of the above names, someone else may have registered the others or perhaps, six other J.Bloggs Accountants have each registered one of the names. This could mean that people looking for your company may go to one of the other sites by accident, and you may lose the business, so it's important to make your name as unique as possible.

Remember, your domain name is like an advertisement. Every time someone sees it, it advertises your company.

Your company name probably means a lot to you and may reflect your business but, on the Internet, will it have the same meaning? Imagine that you are seeing that name for the first time, does it really reflect your business? You may need to reflect a little on what your domain name should be.

It should be short and easy to remember. You don't want your customers to have to write it down to remember it everytime they want to e-mail you or go to your website. Try to avoid using dashes (-) if you can, as they can confuse people.

Remember, you are only allowed to use the letters a-z, the numbers 0-9 and the character '-'. No other characters are allowed. Your domain name must also be two or more characters in length.

What's the difference between a .co.uk and a .com?

There are several different types of Domain Name you can choose, for example:

.co.uk
.com
.net
.ltd.uk
.org
.org.uk

.org and .org.uk are usually reserved for government bodies, organisations and charities, but you may qualify for one if you would prefer one. .net was originally set up for Internet Service Providers, but is now more widely used.

The two most popular (and therefore the easiest to remember) are .co.uk and .com. Anyone who knows a little about domain names and is looking for your company will try it with these two extentions first, so it's best to stick to these unless you have a specific reason for wanting to try any of the others.

Some companies, particularly larger companies will register the name with every type of extention to ensure that potential customers can find their site easily and also to make sure no one else can register a similar name and make money from this, but this can be costly.

.com is a very popular extention, meaning commercial. This originally was more associated with American companies, but can now be registered by anyone.

.co.uk represents a company (co) in the UK. It's the most commonly used of all by British companies, and is also considerably cheaper than .com. This is because the organisation that controls the registration of .co.uk domain names (Nominet) is a non-profit organisation, whereas their American counterpart, Network Solutions is a commercial organisation.

Other extensions include .ltd.uk, which is reserved for limited companies and .plc.uk, reserved for public limited companies. There are very specific rules about how these domains can be used, and because of this, they are rarely used. For more information, read through Nominet's rules and regulations.

What if someone else has registered the domain I want?

Let's say your company is called "J.Bloggs Accountants".

Supposing there is a J.Bloggs Accountants in York and you are in London? They could have already registered JBloggsAccountants.co.uk for their company. As a general rule, the naming authority, Nominet work on a first come first serve basis.

So how do you overcome that problem?

Firstly, you could register a variation of your company name, for example, JBAccountants.co.uk, if this were available.

If you are registered at Companies House as a Ltd company, then you could apply for a .ltd.uk domain name instead of a .co.uk domain name. The other way is to take your dispute to Nominet themselves. On the Nominet site, you will find the disputes procedure which explains the rules and regulations concerning this problem.

You may receive a letter telling you that your domain name has been registered and you can buy it from the company who registered it. Be very careful about taking up this offer. If the company concerned have already registered the domain on your behalf and then tried to sell it for more than a reasonable amount, you could have grounds to dispute their ownership.

If you feel that anyone has registered your domain name with the express intention of gaining money for it, you may be able to take your case to court, as some cases of this nature have already been fought and won in America.

If you think you have a case like this, check this page on the Nominet site.

How do I register my domain name?

When you have decided on a domain name, simply fill in the form on our order form and we will check the availability of it and register it on your behalf. We will invoice you for the total amount and you will need to pay for the domain within 14 days.

This cost covers registration of your domain for two years. At the end of this period, you will be asked to renew your name. This renewal cost will be similar to the original cost (allowing for inflation). If you don't renew your domain name, you could lose it.

Once your domain name is paid for it will normally be available for use within 48 hours. It will be 'parked' on our server until you are ready to use it at no additional charge.