What is a Domain
Any computer linked up to the internet has a unique number known as an IP (Internet Protocol) address – the domain name system (DNS) has been set up to translate this numerical address into something a little more meaningful. It is this people friendly address that is referred to as the Domain Name; without it we would all be having to remember meaningless long numbers.

Domain names are used to identify particular web pages and email accounts; these are displayed as part of the web address and email address, e.g. webwiseaudit.com

Having a domain - the Associated Costs

The average cost of a domain name is between £10-£25 for 2 years (.com is the most expensive option), notification of expiry will be sent out, at which point the domain can be renewed for another 2+ years (.com addresses are usually registered for just 1 year to start with).

The second expense is the hosting of the website by businesses known as Internet Service Providers (ISP). They will store your website, all your site traffic information and email on their hardware (servers). The cost ranges from free (although this is not recommended) to an average of £80-£200 per year. For larger sites the cost is considerably more.

A word of warning; if the domain has been registered by your web builder under their name and address rather than that of your business, that person could get the notification of expiry and you would be none-the-wiser. This is fine if you have an ongoing relationship with your web builder but in many cases these were graduates/employees that have since moved on.

The Domain Suffix

Domain names are all stored in one huge international database, the reason being that any one domain name must be unique. It is therefore possible to discover a desired company name has already been registered as a domain by someone else. Different Domain suffix’s are available now e.g. ltd.co.uk or net.uk or even me.uk. As a UK company it is advisable to purchase a registration for either .com or .co.uk. Some companies choose to register both - there are two clear benefits for registering both:

1. It is likely that Internet users will guess your web address by attempting to input one or the other suffix (.co.uk or .com) after your company name. If you have both domain names then you can link them together and ensure that which ever one is input the user will find your site.

2. It would be annoying if you had the .com domain but another company/person bought the .co.uk domain. Internet users could hit an alternative site when they were attempting to find yours. This is especially annoying if it is a competitor site or an undesirable site.

If you are not concerned about having both the .co.uk and .com suffix then the .com is generally regarded as the all encompassing one.