Domain Names
A domain name is your own unique web address, usually your own business or trading name, such as
But it could be anything you want, so long as it's not already taken by someone else or it's not a registered Trademark of another company. The possibilities are limited only by the association with your business and your imagination.What does all this mean?
| Server Name | Company or Organisation Name | Domain Group | Country | User ID |
| www | gmw | com | au | |
| www | hot-rod | net | ||
| www | vicnet | net | au | ~dlra |
Server Name - The server name is just that the name given to the remote Internet Server or Host. Usually it will be www, but it could be anything, such as host, ftp, mail. Typically different servers can be given different names.
The Company or Organisation Name - The company or organisation name. This can be an abreviation or trading name, but must be unique and relate to the business and not breach any other business or trading names. You cannot register place names or groups eg. www.melbourne.com.au or www.architects.com.au
Domain Group - To make provision for enough web addresses and to catagorise the types of organisations their area number of domain groups. Typically companies use .com, organisations .org and service providers .net. But their are others and as most of the popular the domain names become taken, their are now companies who offer non-standard domain names like
NOTE : To be granted a .com, you must have a registered business or be trading under that name
Country - Every country has it's own unique identifying suffix to a domain address, except for the USA which has none. So for example Australia is .au, Japan is .jp. This can also be an easy way of approximately identifying where in the world a company is located.
User ID - These types of addresses appear where a company or individual has a website, but no domain name. They are using or piggy backing off the domain name of their service provider. This is certainly not as profesional or easy to remember as your business or trading name and these types of addresses can get very long. eg http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Downs/4757/gmw.html
An Australian domain name (.au) costs $140AU for two years and an USA domain name costs $80US for two years. You can apply directly to the AUNIC's Australian Internet Registry page at http://www.ina.com.au/, you'll need to have your own Internet server and full-time connection, which is a little like building your own car and then trying to have it registered. It can take from a couple of days to a couple of weeks to secure your domain name. Once you register a domain name, it's yours for as long as you continue to pay your renewal fees.
The most practical method is to have either your ISP, web host or us do all the leg work - after all, they'll also be responsible for handling your e-mail and hosting your Web page at that same URL address. Most ISP's and web hosts charge a once-off registration fee for your domain name (although these names are issued free by AUNIC, that cost can represent the ISPs administration and setting up of the domain name on their server). This varies from $200 (OzEmail) to $1000 (World.Net) and should include the automatic forwarding of mail sent to your domain address, such as john@cyclecity.com.au, to your usual mail account with that ISP. We can provide this service for $99. See the form at the bottom of the page.
The fact that mail sent to john@cyclecity.com.au is redirected to jsmith@supernet.com.au is totally transparent to most e-mail software. This maintains the illusion that your company is a big-time player with offices in a city skyscraper instead of a one-person home business nestled away in the spare room.
If you want a Web page at the same domain address, you'll have to sign up for a `virtual Web server' plan under which the ISP will host your Web page, provide hard disk space for files which users can download, and support CGI so your page can include forms (useful for surveys, competitions and other feedback mechanisms). This is likely to cost from $1000-$3000 per year but prices and plans vary widely between ISPs, so it pays to shop around (and don't be afraid to haggle) in order to find the best deal. We are pleased to offer the hot-rod.net virtual web server, which can reduce this cost dramatically. Or we can highly recommend the same company that hosts these pages. Thier prices start at $275.
To secure your name, you can still apply and register now and build your site later. For a nominal fee ($99) we can make the appropriate application and register your name on your behalf. (See the form below)
Check the availability of your prefered Australian domain name NOW!
| DOMAIN NAME or WEBSITE SETUP REQUEST FORM If you fill out this information request form our staff will contact you! |
Domain name scams and rip offs are fairly common, because many domain owners are totally confused about the registration procedures. Here's details about a few of them.
