About Domain Names
mycompany.com
A domain name forms part of your “online address” and uniquely identifies your business or organisation on the Internet.
- Business names end in .com.au (Australia) .com (Global) or .biz
- Organisations and associations end in .org.au or .org
- Networks end in .net.au or .net
- Individual names end in .id.au or .id
- There are other domain name types too such as .tv, .info, .asn.au ….
Why Should I Register My Own Domain Name?
Registering a domain name of your own frees you from a particular service provider, as you can transfer it (and your domain-based email addresses) to any Internet Service Provider (ISP) you like.
Many businesses start out with websites and email addresses that are based on a subdomain of their service provider’s domain. For example mycompany.mytelco.com.au. The problem is, if you decide to change service providers, your website and email addresses that you have marketed to your customers will no longer work once you cancel the mytelco.com.au account, and it will cost you money to remarket the new addresses.
Registering your own domain name that is based on your business name or product also helps to protect your business interests. Some unscrupulous business operators have been known to obtain domain names that match their competitors’ name/product name simply to redirect traffic to their own site.
How Is My Domain Name Renewed?
Your ISP will start sending you reminder emails with details on how to renew 3 months before the expiry date.
You must renew your domain name before it expires to ensure you maintain control over it and for your related website and emails to continue to work.
If you change email addresses between renewals, make sure you login to your ISP account and change your contact email address, or you may not receive the renewal email and you risk losing your domain name!
Choosing a Domain Name
There is no automatic “right” to a particular name. If you want a .com.au domain name, the name must correspond with your registered business name, trading name or product and you must provide your ABN/ACN or BN.
- Business names end in .com.au (Australia) .com (Global) or .biz
- Organisations and associations end in .org.au or .org
- Networks end in .net.au or .net
- Individual names end in .id.au or .id
You can register more than one domain name, for example if your business has multiple products or trading names. This is one way to protect your business if a competitor tries to register a name that could be confused with yours. A domain name registration is a business asset and if you sell your business, you should ensure that the domain name is also included in the transfer to the new owner, unless they no longer wish to use that name. You will need to authorise the transfer by writing to the ISP, and provide access credentials to the new owner.
If you do not yet have a business name registered, it’s a good idea to check whether the domain name is available before you register the business name
Registering a New Domain Name
.com.au and .org.au domains must be registered for 2 years. Other domains can generally be registered for one year. Some registrars offer multiple year domains at discounted rates.
If you register a domain through Nullarbor Consulting, you will receive:
- Registration with an ISP that is a fully accredited partner of all major domain accreditation authorities
- Domain renewal reminders via email
- Domain name certificate to prove asset ownership
- 24/7 domain support
- Support with Nullarbor Consulting with MX record and other DNS redirects that may be required to enable email service continuity
Transferring a Domain Name to a new provider
We can help you move your domain name to a reliable domain hosting provider. Includes:
- Transfer of your existing domain name by Nullarbor Consulting to an ISP that is a fully accredited partner of all major domain accreditation authorities
- Domain renewal reminders via email
- Domain name certificate to prove asset ownership
- 24/7 domain support
- Support with Nullarbor Consulting with MX record and other DNS redirects that may be required to enable email service continuity
Australian Domain Transfers (.com.au, .net.au, .org.au, .id.au)
- .au transfers are actioned once confirmation has been received by the ISP from the authorised contact for the domain
- Takes 48 hours for the relevant domain registry to transfer the domain
- While the transfer process is free, registrations within the renewal period (90 days to expiry) will require the registration renewal payment to be submitted at the time of transfer.
Top Level Domain Transfers (.com, .net, .org, .info, .biz)
- Take 5 – 10 days to complete
- If the current status of the domain is “Redemption Period”, “Pending Delete” or “Expired”, we will not be able to transfer the registration automatically and we will need to contact your current registrar
- Requires a minimum of 1 year renewal fee upon transfer, which is then added to the end of your registration period.