The initial step that all businesses must take when beginning their move to the internet is the registration of a domain name.

A domain name is your permanent web address and forms the basis for your internet identity. Internet Ideas can advise you on the selection of an appropriate domain name and complete the domain registration process on your behalf.

What is a Domain Name?

A domain name is the Web address that people use to access your page, e.g. www.yourname.com.au (usually a business or product name). Whether you are ready for a fully fledged web presence or not, it is wise to register your business domain name now while it is still available (there are over 5000 new names being registered a day!). Domain names are distributed through several non-government agencies depending on the suffix attached.

Why have a Domain Name?

There are several good reasons to have your own domain name. The first and most important is that your web identity is permanent and exclusive to you and is not tied to somebody else's domain (such as www.alphalink.com.au/~pashton as opposed to www.yourname.com). This is important to give yourself a clear professional identity and also to give yourself full portability. If you change ISPs you can simply take your domain with you.  A domain name is key to your business identity (as important as your trading name) and accessibility (when people try to find you on the web) and also adds to the long term value of your business.

What Domain Suffix? (.com, .net, .com.au, etc.)

There are several different suffixes or domain name extensions to choose from and regional extensions. The three international suffixes are .com, .net, .org; these refer to company, network and organization respectively. International domains are freely available to whomever applies, whether they are a company, a network or an organization or not. Obtaining an Australian domain name is another story. The three standard suffixes .com.au, .net.au, .org.au  (note the use of the .au after the .com to signify Australia, other suffixes can be found here) will only be given to registered companies or businesses. However, there are other Australian domains available such as asn.au for associations and id.au for individuals.

For further information and advice on obtaining domain names please e-mail us at Internet Ideas or phone 03 5985 3026.