Domain Names FAQ

Does registering a business name provide you automatic rights to the domain name? »

Business names are only valid in your State of Australia, whilst .com.au domain names are national and .com domain names are global.

Register a Australian Domian Name relevant to your business Today!!

Am I guaranteed to get the domain name I want? »

You will not always get the name you want. In some cases, the name might already be registered, while in others you may not meet the eligibility requirements. For those domain name spaces where there are specific requirements, you will be notified by Melbourne IT of whether your application was successful or not.

Do I own the domain name? »

No, you purchase a domain name licence, so as long as you continue to renew the domain name you will maintain the license to use it.

What domain name space should I register? »

If your business primarily operates in Australia .com.au is the most important namespace.

What is domain name parking? »

It refers to the registration of an internet domain name without that domain being associated with any services such as e-mail or a website. This may be done in order to reserve the domain name for future development, and to protect against the possibility of cyber squatting.

If a domain name is eligible can I register it? »

You can register a domain name if you meet the eligibility requirements for that name. For example, the registry may require that you reside in a certain country, own a business with a name related to the domain name or own a trademark related to the domain name.

Are the rules for all domain names the same? »

No, the rules for registering any country code domain name such as .au are unique to Australia, just as they are unique in the United Kingdom for .co.uk. The rules for global domain name spaces such as .com or .net are uniform across the globe. PYI.com.au can advise your business on the most appropriate domain names to register and where.

What happens if my domain name expires? »

If your domain name is not renewed by the expiry date on the renewal invoice, it will become inactive. You will not be able to access your website using the domain name. The domain name will remain inactive for a period of 60 days, after which, it will be deleted from the system and the name will become available for other parties to apply for.

What is a domain name server or DNS? »

It is a computer that holds and stores records of domain names. In simple terms the DNS serves as the “phone book” for the Internet by translating human-friendly computer hostnames into IP addresses. For example, www.example.com translates to 208.77.188.166.

What does .au mean in a domain name? »

.au is the domain country code for Australia. Each nation has been granted its own unique two letter code to distinguish websites emanating from its own country.

What does having an abbreviation like .edu before the .au mean? »

Within .au there are a number of second level domains serving specific communities, such as .com.au (for Australian companies) and .id.au (for Australian individuals). .edu.au was created to allow a unique space for recognised Australian education and training entities. As such, only approved organisations are eligible for an .edu.au address, ensuring that only educational related material can be found on .edu.au sites.

What are the valid characters and lengths for domain names? »

Names can contain a combination of the English-language letters A through Z, and the digits 0 through 9. You can also use hyphens (-), but hyphens cannot begin or end your domain name. Spaces and special characters (such as !, $, &, ë, and so on) are not permitted. The minimum length is 2 characters, and the maximum length is 63 characters (excluding the “http://www” portion).

What are the benefits of registering a good domain name? »

  • Build credibility: Show your customers that you have an established business.
  • Improve your marketing: Provide customers an easy way to remember and contact you.
  • Protect your brand: Secure the domain name that best represents your business name, brand or product and keep it out of the hands of your competitors.

Why should I register more than one domain name? »

The main reason for registering more domain names is to enhance your online identity by registering abbreviations, variations and positioning statements (slogans) that say something about your organisation, your products, your brand or even a special offer that you might be considering.

What are the key advantages of registering more than one domain name? »

This approach is that you are effectively creating many different doorways for customers to walk in to your on-line business. By registering misspellings, plurals and hyphenated versions of your identity you are also ensuring that other businesses cannot hijack your identity or worse, your customers.

What is an Internationalised Domain Name or IDN? »

IDNs are domain names represented by local language characters. Such domain names could contain characters with diacritical marks as required by many European languages, or characters from non-Latin scripts (for example, Arabic or Chinese). IDNs make the domain name label as it is displayed and viewed by the end user different from that transmitted in the DNS.

How do I register an IDN? »

Internationalized domain names are registered in the same way as normal domain names. Nevertheless not all extensions allow all languages, and not all characters are valid for every language.

Still have more questions? Give us a call or email us now.