Websites and content

Your address on the web: domain names

To establish your website, you will need to select a suitable domain name, which is your main online address, and logical URLs that attach to that domain name for each page of content.

About domain names

Your domain name is one of the main ways people will find your organisation online. The elements of a domain name can contribute to the initial impression formed by users.
Consider a domain name such as ‘www.mywebsitename.com.au’:

‘www’ means the site is linked to the World Wide Web
‘mywebsitename’ is the name you choose for your site, and ideally is readily identifiable with your organisation’s name or core business
‘.com’ indicates that your organisation is engaged in commercial activity
‘.au’ means the company is registered in Australia

Use of ‘.au’ is regulated to provide a measure of confidence in the credentials of the organisation behind a website:

‘com.au’ and ‘net.au’ are available only to commercial entities registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission or with a state or territory government regulator
‘org.au’ is for charities and non-profit organisations
‘asn.au’ is for incorporated associations, political parties, trade unions and clubs, charities and non-profit organisations
‘gov.au’ is reserved for federal, state and local government bodies
‘edu.au’ is reserved for registered educational institutions.

It is also possible to register domain names that are international, for example, just “.com” or just “.org”. There are a variety of different classes of domains, such as:

‘.com’—the most common top-level domain
‘.net’ for networks
‘.biz’ for businesses
‘.info’ for information services
‘.org’ for organisations
“.mobi’ for mobile websites

It is important when choosing the ‘mywebsitename’ part of your domain name to remember that users must be able to associate it with your organisation. Ideally it could be your organisation name or the core offering of your organisation.

Registering your domain name

You may find that the most obvious domain names for your business might already be taken—perhaps by another organisation involved in similar activities, or perhaps by a speculator who has registered many domain names in the hope of selling them at premium prices.
Consider carefully whether the cost of obtaining a particular, already-registered domain name warrants the price, or whether to establish a new, alternative domain name at minimal cost. In coming up with an alternative domain name, you should consider:

Does it suit your reputation, branding and purposes for being online?
Is it easy to remember and type into a web browser?
How easily will users be able to guess your domain name?

There are many domain name registration agents, known as registrars. Some of these are hosting service providers. Registrars have a tool that will allow you to search for available domain names.
Prices for domain name registrations vary between resellers, but typically range from $20 to $100 per annum. The price is affected by such factors such as duration of registration and any additional services provided. All ‘.au’ domains have a set registration period of two years. Top level domains that are not country-specific (‘.com’, ‘.net’, and so on) are available for registration for up to 10 years at a time.
Note that when you register a domain, you are required to provide certain information about yourself or organisation (contact name, telephone, mailing address and email details, and perhaps your ACN). This information will become publicly available once registration is complete and it is sometimes exploited by spammers and direct marketers. To protect your privacy, some registrars offer a masking service for which you pay an additional fee per domain per year.
Importantly, you should monitor the expiry date(s) for your domain name(s) and make sure you renew your registration(s) before then. It is costly and time-consuming to re-establish a lapsed registration, and you run the risk of a rival or a name squatter snatching the domain name before you can re-register it.
Once you have registered your domain name, you need to assign it to your website hosting service provider. This is a simple process and most providers will provide you with instructions on how to accomplish it. If your hosting service is with the same provider as your domain registration, assigning the domain will normally happen automatically.

Registration of multiple domain names

It is not uncommon for an organisation to register multiple, similar domain names related to their names so that users trying to guess their domain name can easily find them.
You may also see a tactical purpose in registering an array of domain names (including different versions of your business name and likely misspellings) and a variety of TLDs (‘.com’, ‘.com.au’, ‘.net’, ‘.net.au’ and so on). This can prevent a rival or a speculator from registering a similar address to capture traffic from people who mistype your address.
Because of the enormous popularity of ‘.com’, which is almost a default web address, you might consider registering that domain as a matter of course, in addition to our other choices.
If you decide to register multiple domain names, check with your website host or domain registrar to discuss how to re-direct all the domains you register to your main site.
In selecting your domain name, you should also give consideration to potential legal issues.
To learn more about domain name registration in Australia, visit the Australian Domain Name Administrator. Find the owners of currently registered Australian domain names by using the ‘whois’ tool at at AusRegistry.
To find the owners of registered international domains, see www.allwhois.com.