Shorter UK web address set to be sold to firms
BRITISH businesses will be able to shorten their .co.uk web addresses to .uk next year, the UK internet registry organisation Nominet said yesterday.
The new domain will go on sale next year for the same price as existing .co.uk web addresses.
“It’s about helping people to have more memorable names and keeping the trust and confidence that they already have in .uk,” said Nominet chief executive Lesley Cowley.
For those already holding .co.uk, .org.uk, and other similar addresses, Nominet will offer an equivalent .uk domain, which will be held in reserve for five years.
After that period, .uk domains not already picked up will be opened up to bidding from all-comers.
Nominet, a not-for-profit company, said the development will bring the UK’s domains in line with Germany’s .de and France’s .fr addresses.
“There’s a lot of support for a shorter and snappier domain,” said Cowley. “The .uk namespace is one of the most popular and trusted available and we’re committed to ensuring it stays up-to-date and relevant.”
The new domains will start from just £2.50 per year for multi-year registrations and £3.50 per year for single year registrations, in an effort to keep costs low for small businesses looking to move online.
Last week the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the world body that oversees the web’s naming conventions, gave London the go-ahead to use its own unique .London domain name.
New York, Berlin, Vienna and Brussels were among the cities granted approval to use their own domain names from 2014.
Mayor Boris Johnson said last week that adopting the .London suffix would enable organisations to associate themselves more closely with London’s global brand.
“This is also an excellent opportunity to expand London’s digital presence, which in turn is set to generate funds to invest back into the city,” he said in a statement.