What is a domain name?
	Why should I get a domain name now?
	Does a domain name give me a email address or a website?
	Should I have a com.au or a .com or a .id.au name?
	Before placing your order
	Renewals
	Internet Glossary

What is a domain name?

Domain names are passports for conducting business on the internet.
The internet uses very unfriendly numbers like 192.168.0.1 to get around, domain names are a means of associating these hard-to-remember
numbers with easier-to-remember names.

Domain names are broken up into a number of components.

www.	your name.	com	.au
www. is not part of the domain name	your name	type of domain	country



 

  

US domain names do not have a country part, often non-US companies
set up a .com name instead of, or in addition to their country domain.

The types include .com.au for business entities, .edu.au for educational bodies, .gov.au for government bodies, .net.au for internet service providers, .org.au and .asn.au for non-profit organisations and
association, and .id.au for individuals.

Why should I get a domain name now?

Your domain name gives you recognition on the internet. Another
aspect not many people think about is that it gives you portability.
You may have seen many email addresses like
sarah982z@ozemail.com.au which include the Internet Service
Provider's domain name, the problem with this type of name is that
if you decide to change from one ISP to another then you lose your
email address which may have become an important link to your business/electronic life. Unlike phone numbers there is no directory assistance, or recorded message telling you what the new email
address is, the email is just sent back as user unknown - end of
story. A name like sarah@smith.id.au or info@mybusiness.com.au
can be transferred to different ISP's.

Another reason to register your domain name now is so that
someone else doesn't register the name before you. Names are
issued on a first come first serve basis, and unless you can establish
that someone infringed your trademark then there is probably nothing
you can do if someone else gets your domain name before you. Even
if you don't expect to have a website or even use email for some time
it is still better to have your domain name sitting in the wings for
when you do.

Does a domain name give me an email address, or a web site?

No. When you register a company or business name you do not get
the bricks and mortar, the office space or the shop front. Similarly
the registration of a domain name only establishes an identity, it is
up to you who you delegate the name to. Your Internet Service
Provider will generally provide you with mailboxes, and perhaps even webspace, which you can give descriptive names such as sales@mybusiness.com.au, or www.mybusiness.com.au.

Should I have a .com.au or a .com or a .id.au name?

This is not a straightforward question as it depends very much on your needs and business profile.  

If the domain is for personal use, a .id.au domain would most likely be appropriate.  You could have your family website at www.familyname.id.au and email address for each member of the family (for example, john@familyname.id.au sarah@familyname.id.au and littlemary@familyname.id.au )

If your domain name is for business, and you are trading internationally then the .com may be more appropriate, however if your operations will be based in Australia the the .com.au will probably suit you better. There are some special risks associated with .com names since the US government enacted their cybersquatting rules in Dec 1999, you could find yourself facing U.S. courts if a claim is made to the name by a US corporation, and potentially have the name withdrawn from you. Some legal advice has been to always perform US and Canadian Trademark searches, and if the name doesn't infringe then to register a trademark to protect yourself. The .com.au names have the benefit of being more easily found in popular search engines like Alta-Vista (GoEureka), ANZwers, Yahoo.com.au etc which allow you to select Australian content rather than scanning the entire world.

Before placing your order.

You should decide upon the type of domain you desire.  .com and/or .com.au for business and .id.au for private.  Then check the availability of your preferred name on our search page.  

		.COM.AU is used by commercial entities such as companies with an Australian Company Number and businesses registered with State governments.
		NET.AU is recommended for organizations and companies that are using the Internet as an integral part of their operations.
		.ID.AU is reserved for the people of Australia to create their own online identity.
		.ASN.AU is for incorporated associations, trade unions, political parties, sporting and special interest clubs, and partnerships between disparate organisations.
		.ORG.AU is for verifiable non-profit and charitable organisations.
.com	.com	.COM  is without a doubt the most popular TLD on the Internet. These domains can be registered by anyone from any country.
.net	.net	.NET was originally for ISPs and major internet nodes, .net is increasingly being used for various other ventures.
.org	.org	.ORG is used mainly by research groups, open source software developers, general internet community and various organisations world wide.
	.info	.INFO domain names are your opportunity to reach a worldwide audience with information about you, your ideas, or your organisation.
	.biz	.BIZ is heralded as 'the next .com'  This TLD has been introduced for large successful corporations and commercial entities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Renewals

Your registration of a .au is valid for two years, and a .com from one to ten years.  Both types of names must be renewed when they expire. Failure to renew the registration will result in the name being withdrawn. Generally you will have delegated the domain name to an ISP so they will generally be handling the renewal.