What is a Domain Name?
Description of what a "Domain Name" is and how it relates to your business.
WHAT IS A DOMAIN NAME?
An internet domain name is a unique address that is closely aligned to an organizations commercial name. We will use the for profit company Spot The Dog Pty Ltd as an example.
www.spotthedog.com.au
The domain name is made up of several parts:
www The www prefix signifies that it is a World Wide Web address. spotthedog Spot the Dog is the registered name of the organization. com This is the second level domain and it defines the type of organization. Com indicates it is a commercial organization. au The two-letter country code is known as the top-level domain. The domain name system is a global network of servers that translate host names like www.hotwired.com into numerical IP (Internet Protocol) addresses, like 204.62.131.129, which computers on the Net use to communicate with each other. Without DNS, we'd all be memorizing long numbers instead of intuitive URLs or email addresses. And that wouldn't be much fun, would it?
WHAT DO I NEED TO REGISTER A COM.AU DOMAIN NAME?
The com.au domain is a listing service. It provides a distinct 1:1 correlation between a domain name and an applicant’s registered commercial name. Only commercial entities registered and trading in Australia will be allocated a com.au domain name. Domain name registration simply reserves the domain name for your use.
The following table lists types of eligible commercial entities.
Type of Eligible Entity
Identified By
Authority
Trading Name and Legal Name ABN Australian Business Registry Companies (including foreign companies registered to trade in Australia) CAN (or ARBN for foreign companies) Australian Securities and Investment Commission Registered Business Names Registered Business Number State Government Registries Incorporated Associations Association Number State Government Registries Commercial Statutory Bodies Act of Parliament Federal or State Parliament Financial Institutions Financial Institution Code Relevant Regulatory Authority Registered Superannuation Funds Fund Number Relevant Regulatory Authority SOME RULES THAT APPLY
· Complete and correct details must be provided with each and every application.
· Only one domain name is licensed per eligible commercial entity. Organizations with more than one eligible commercial entity (for example, a company with several registered trading names) can apply for one com.au domain name for each registered trading name.
· A com.au domain name must be at least two characters long, contain only letters (a-z) and numbers (0-9) and hyphens or a combination of these. It must start and end with a number or letter (not a hyphen).
· No two domain names can be exactly the same (e.g. there can only be one spotthedog.com.au). No test is made to ensure that the same or a similar domain name already exists in another domain (e.g. .net.au, .com) or that the domain name is similar to an existing registered com.au domain name.
· com.au domain names are licensed to applicants on a “first-come, first served” basis.
· Applicants can use the complete name of their eligible commercial entity or an abbreviation. An abbreviation can only be made up of characters contained in the commercial entity name. Characters can be removed but must remain in the same order and characters cannot be added. For example, Spot the Dog Pty Ltd could apply for the domain std.com.au but not sdt.com.au or spotthedogs.com.au
· Australian place names and their common abbreviations will not be licensed for use as com.au domain names.
· Words that represent commercial categories or sectors will not be licensed for use as com.au domain names (e.g. cars, mining, manager, company)
· Names that are offensive, obscene or contrary to public policy will not be licensed for use as com.au domain names.
· The initial license period for a com.au domain name is two years. The license to use the com.au domain name can be renewed at the end of each license period.
· The license to use the com.au domain name cannot be transferred or sold to another party.
INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER (ISP)
An Internet Service Provider (ISP) is an organization that has a computer system with a link to the Internet. A person wanting to connect to the Internet connects his or her own computer to that of the ISP (by modem dial-up or permanent link) to gain access to the Internet. The ISP acts like a "gateway" with hundreds, or even thousands, of people connecting up, and passing through to the Internet.
A host ISP is an Internet Service Provider (ISP) that runs a Web site for a person or organization. The host ISP is responsible for the proper identification and administration of the domain name at the site.
WEB SITE HOSTING
Hosting (also known as Web site hosting, Web hosting, and Webhosting) is the business of housing, serving, and maintaining files for one or more Web sites. A web hosting company leases server space and web services to companies and individuals who wish to present a web or e-commerce presence but do not wish to maintain their own servers. More important than the computer space that is provided for Web site files is the fast connection to the Internet. Most hosting services offer connections on T-carrier system lines. Typically, an individual business hosting its own site would require a similar connection and it would be expensive. Using a hosting service lets many companies share the cost of a fast Internet connection for serving files. Each Web site will have its own domain name and set of e-mail addresses.
E-mail is Mail or messages that are transmitted electronically by computers. An e-mail address is the unique address for an electronic mailbox, e.g. fred@spotthedog.com.au. The possibilities for e-mail addresses are endless, e.g. info@spotthedog.com.au, help@spotthedog.com.au, admin@spotthedog.com.au. Mail can be automatically redirected from any address, so if Fred is in charge of info, help and admin all mail sent to these address’ can be redirected automatically to Fred.