Websites consist of two parts, which can be supplied separately:

a) The Domain Name. This is like the “telephone number” by which anyone can access your website, and probably looks like www.fredbloggs.co.uk. It is also used to direct email to the right mailbox, for example This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

b) The Website Host. This is the computer where your website files reside, and are sent on request to any computer which wants to view them. The files that make up your website can usually be copied to another website host, but this may not be possible where sites are designed online using a program unique to that hosting provider.

You can buy and move either of the above two parts independently of each other, but for small and simpler sites it is common to buy both from the same supplier.

Why do I need a domain name?

If you do nothing else, at least buy the domain name for your business. It's often first-come, first-served, and you may either have to pay off a domain sitter (a speculator who buys many domain names with the intention of selling on for a profit) or go through a lengthy and costly dispute process. There may be several businesses which can justify the same or a similar domain name to yours, and thus its very much who gets there first. Since the cost of a domain name is only a few pounds for a whole year, don't prevaricate - do it today.

Ensure that the domain is registered to your business or organisation itself. This avoids any potential problems in the future if your website provider goes out of business or has a dispute with you. Whilst you are the registered owner, you would normally delegate the technical management of the domain name to a provider. The registration allows for separate names to be listed for owner (registrant), administrative and technical contact.

Which format of domain name?

We recommend the standard format ending in .co.uk for UK businesses and .org.uk for UK charities. If you have (or expect to have) a large online store, you may also want .com. Although you can buy multiple names (and have them all redirected to the same place), its best to focus on a single name for your business. Use this one on your business cards, publicity material, car/van decals etc. where it adds credibility to your business and makes it easier for customers to find your contact details.

You should also choose a name which is fairly short and memorable. it has to fit onto your business cards, side of van, be obvious or easy to remember, and easy to type into a web browser when calling it up. So good choices might be fredbloggs.co.uk and poor choice might be fredbloggspavingandgroundworksbath.co.uk

There are a variety of additional domain name choices appearing (and growing) all the time. We don't see the value of a .uk.com or .eu name. If you are unable to get your first choice and you are a limited company, you should be able to get a .ltd.uk name.This is the only one where you have to prove you are the company owner, and the domain is registered to the company itself.

What’s important when making a choice of supplier?

For domain names, most functions can be easily handled online and few customers would require calling their provider. These systems are only used when making configuration changes to direct your customers to a different website host or email, so high speed is not generally a factor.

Important criteria are therefore:

• Ease of use of the self-service screens to buy and maintain your domain
• Size of provider, to ensure that they remain in business
• Price, especially for .com domain names which often cost 2-3 times as much in the UK compared with the US.

You can expect to pay around £3+VAT per year for domain names ending in .uk, and around £10+VAT per year for those ending in .com. Some well known companies charge much higher prices (e.g. Yell.com charge £75), but are providing exactly the same technical capability.

If you have a lot of domain names or are particularly price conscious, then you will want to shop around. It’s easy to find domain name hosts based in the US who can offer .com domains at much lower prices – say £4 per year. But if you only have one or two, then its probably simpler to maintain everything with one provider.

Domain name providers deliver their service using a Nameserver, which is a computer that simply contains long lists of all the domain names they control, and the internet addresses to find the website or email server. This information is widely copied around the internet into temporary local stores which are used to speed up finding websites. Therefore configuration changes can take up to 24 or 48 hours to percolate through the entire internet and so should be managed carefully to minimise disruption and lost emails. Additionally, your details are also formally registered with the central internet registry, so you are the official owner of the site.