UK Domain Registrars

The Domain industry is divided into two types of provider, Domain Name Registrar and Domain Resellers. This Article discusses the meaning and roles of both types of Company.

Introduction

Each type of domain name known as Top Level Domains or TLD are run and maintained by a Domain Registry, these tend to be appointed by industry Regulator ICANN or in the case of a country level domain, known as gTLD's by the Government of the Country concerns, so for example .com domain names are provided by Verisign, whilst Nominet provide .uk domains.

The Registry is responsible for maintaining the Hardware and infrastructure to keep that domain type running. Registries in turn appoint Registrars to sell their domain name types and to deal directly with the public and business community. There are different rules that apply for each domain type.

The .com registry will only accept Domain Registrar that themselves are ICANN accredited. Whilst Nominet the UK registry has much less strict rules and its relatively easy to become a UK registrar.

Domain Resellers are not Registrars themselves but act as intermediaries in the market, buying domains on a wholesale basis from Domain Registrars and selling them to the end users.

Domain Organisation Chart

Domain Registrars

At the time of writing there are 13 UK companies that are both official ICANN registrars and UK domain Registrars. These companies can provide a full range of domain types and have the advantage over Domain Resellers in that they deal directly with the Domain Registries and therefore get the best pricing in the market. If you are looking to purchase higher volumes of domain names then its best to talk to a Domain Registrar first.

Domain Resellers

There are large numbers of these particularly as Nominet the UK registry is relatively easy to join, they are typically web design companies or smaller companies operating in the Domain Registration market.

Advantages of dealing with directly with an official ICANN registrar

With so many companies operating in the market it is sometimes difficult to choose which provider to use. Here are some of the benefits of dealing with an Official Registrar:-

 
• You can purchase a full range of domain types, rather than a limited selection
 
• Official registrars are likely to be stronger technically
 
• Official registrars are also likely to be more established businesses.
 
• Greater experience in the market place
 
• Potentially more competitive pricing
 
• Likely to have more advanced and more reliable web site platforms
 
• Ability to become a reseller of domains yourself and access wholesale pricing
 
• Ability to transfer in all your other domain names so they are all managed in one place.

UK Market

Around 50% of domains sold in the UK are gTLD's such as .co.uk whilst the rest are a mix of other types with .com being the most popular. Having a UK domain name has many benefits including:-

 
• It's a statement that you are UK based or interested principally in UK customers
 
• Its familiar with UK users
 
• Low costs typically UK domains sell for under £10 for 2 years registration.
 
• You are typically dealing with UK companies when you buy the domain name, so they appreciate and understand your business and requirements better.

Conclusion

In summary the UK is a large market for Domain companies and there are many to choose from, the market is made up of many players, but often there are good reasons to choose an official ICANN registrar for your UK domain names.

Erin Gray is a professional author and webmaster who works for Discount Domains https://plus.google.com/105680080416880251513/posts