Types of domain name

There are many types of domain name available for a number of different purposes. Each type of domain name has specific rules which may limit its use.

.uk

Many companies in the United Kingdom have chosen to use .co.uk domain names as this gives a clear signal that the company is either based in the UK or has a UK presence. Similarly, the same can be said about .org.uk domain names for UK based organisations. The domain registry for UK domain names is Nominet who are a private, not-for-profit company. As a Nominet member we are able to offer large discounts on domain name registration and renewal fees. Our prices are fully inclusive and we will not charge you anything for moving your .uk domain name to us or away from us.

.co.uk Rules

Two letter names are not allowed.
Two character names are allowed. e.g. 4x.co.uk.
All top level domains are banned from being used as third level names. e.g. net.org.uk and org.co.uk are not allowed.
All one character domain names (i.e. [a-z0-9].xxx.uk) are reserved for possible future sub-domain usage.
There should be at least two name servers for the domain. These are supplied by us for our web hosting clients.
The co.uk domain is for the registration of names relating to commercial enterprises.
No limitation is placed on the number of names that may be applied for.

.org.uk Rules

The .org.uk second level domain is intended for organisations which do not 'fit' into any of the other Second Level Domains of the .uk Top Level Domain. These may include: charities, trades unions, political parties, community groups, educational councils, professional institutions, etc.

.ltd.uk and .plc.uk Rules

One domain name per company name registered at Companies House
The domain name shall correspond exactly to the registered name save for characters not in the "allowable" set and the "reserved" words. Where the definite article appears as the first word of the name it may be omitted.
White space between words shall either be ignored or replaced by a single hyphen "-".
All other characters shall be removed.
Company names written in a non English character set are not allowed at present.

.eu

The .eu domain is aimed at anyone in Europe and aims to provide a truly European for websites. These domains are available to anyone who resides in the European Community or anyone whose central administration or principal place of business is within the European Community. These are looking to become very popular and within the first 4 hours of opening to the public on 7th April 06, 702684 registrations were reported as being processed by the domain name registry.
The domain registry for .eu is EURid. For more information please see their web site at

The allowable character set includes the letters 'a' to 'z', the numbers '0' to '9' and hyphen ('-').
The minimum number of characters in a domain name is 2.
The maximum number of characters in a domain name is 63.
It must not begin or end with a hyphen ('-').
It must not contain hyphens in the 3rd and 4th positions simultaneously.
It must not be an alpha-2 country code.

.com .net .org

These Global Top Level Domains (gTLDs) are aimed towards companies, organisations or individuals who don't wish to restrict themselves to a specific country. .com domains are aimed towards commercial use, .net was originally aimed towards Internet network providers and .org is aimed towards non-profit organisations.

The allowable character set includes the letters 'a' to 'z', the numbers '0' to '9' and hyphen ('-').
No domain name may start with a hyphen ('-').
The minimum number of characters in a domain name is 2.
The maximum number of characters in a domain name is 63.
The entire .com, .net and .org name space is entirely public. This means that if the name space is available, you have the right to go ahead and register it. However .com is known for being the commercial name space, .net is known for the network name space and .org is known for the non-profit organisation name space.
There should be at least two name servers for the domain. These are supplied by ourselves for our web hosting clients.

.info

In an effort to answer the growing demand for an increased quantity and variety of domains on the Web, Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) approved seven additional top-level domains (TLDs) including .info, .biz and .name.
The most attractive of the new domains is .info because universally, the Internet is synonymous with information and the new .info gTLD represents the same extensive benefits associated with ready access to greater volumes and higher quality information realized by Internet users worldwide.
The .info registry is an open one which means that .info is the only new unrestricted domain out of the seven new gTLDs approved. As the one 'true' alternative to .com, .net and .org, it is also expected to generate the largest demand in the marketplace which will foster the development of universal recognition and acceptance.

.biz

As the first Internet domain dedicated solely to the needs of businesses around the world, the launch of .biz represented an important milestone in the progress and development of the Internet. The global reach of the .biz registry and its essential role in defining future business success will translate directly into increased demand for domain names in this new arena!

.name

Reserved exclusively for individuals, .name is the global standard for personal communication. Get your .name today!

.uk.com .eu.com .gb.com .uk.net .web.com us.com

Due to the extra demand for domain names, the founders of CentralNic
launched a new registry to offer global domain names to the world market. Vision Internet Limited is an accredited registrar for CentralNic domains.