Domain names

All Focus web packages include the cost of purchasing your domain name for one year. Your domain name (your websites' address), comprises a name you choose (it can be anything people invariable opt for their company name or as close as they can get) and an extension which you choose (i.e. .co.uk, .com etc).

What type of domain name should you get and what are the differences?

For general UK business we recommend you select either a .co.uk or .com domain-type. The main types of domain are as follows:

.co.uk
This is the UK's main commercial domain type.

.com
Perhaps the best-known type. Was given to denote international commercial businesses but widely used by all sorts of company, large and small.

.info
A new international domain name.

.net
International type, originally reserved for internet companies only but now anyone can buy a .net domain.

uk.com, uk.net
Less popular, alternative UK domains

eu.com
Alternative European domains

gb.com, gb.net
Alternative UK domains

.org
International domain mainly aimed at non-commercial organisations, such as charities but there are no restrictions in practice.

.org.uk
UK non-commercial domain. The UK's domain name for non-commercial organisations.

.ltd.uk
Less popular domain name denoting UK limited company. More complicated to set up.

.plc.uk
Less popular domain name denoting UK public limited company. More complicated to set up.

This is not an exhaustive list but it does contain all the major options. For most small businesses, it's likely to be a case of trying to get a .co.uk or .com name of your choice, but you may want to consider a less popular domain type if the .co.uk and .com options you want are already gone (as is very often the case with common names).

If you are unable to get any domain name with your company name, think about a website name which describes what you do. For instance, if your business name is Jones Car Sales of Brighton, and you can't get any reasonably memorable name (jones, jonescars, jones-cards, jonescarsales, jones-brighton etc), think about a descriptive name like qualitycars-brighton, bargaincars etc. (You may help drive extra traffic to your site this way as the name is more descriptive of what you actually do.....).

Where do you buy your domain name from?

As part of all of our standard web-hosting packages, your domain name comes free. We can also search for, and purchase, any other domain names you may require. Normal domain names cost £15.00 for a one year registration. They will be registered with you as the owner unless you specify differently.

The official registrar for UK domain names is Nominet.

How do you transfer an existing domain name?

If you want us to host your new site but you already have a domain name registered elsewhere, follow these steps.

The easiest and quickest method is to change the Domain Name Server (DNS) records, to point your domain name at our DNS. Alternatively, you can transfer your domain name to us by changing the DNS and/or the IPS Tag. In this event your current relationship with your ISP/host will cease and all future billing will be through us. If you choose this method make sure the Admin Contact for your domain is aware you are transferring your domain to another host so they can authorise the transfer.

Please note, top-level-domains i.e. .com .org and .net can take up to 9 days to transfer, however, the process usually takes 3 to 4 days. To transfer a .co.uk domain name it takes about 1 to 2 hours, once the IPS Tag has been changed.

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