If you didn’t already know, all computers connected to the internet have unique numerical addresses, just like international phone numbers, so that electronic information is delivered to the right place.?The domain name system (DNS) translates these numerical addresses into user-friendly, personalised domain names, which are easier to remember and help people find information on the internet. In the UK, we have .co.uk

To celebrate homegrown business and to spread awareness of the growing opportunities online, Nominet?has launched a campaign to highlight that co.uk is ?A Great Place To Be?.

Nominet has also launched a fresh and new website titled www.agreatplacetobe.co.uk?which has some interesting facts including:

• UK web addresses are trusted, with 4 in 5 people preferring co.uk websites when searching online.
• When buying products and services online, 81% of Britons choose co.uk websites.
• During this momentous year for Great Britain, co.uk says you?re proud to do business in the UK.
• Search engines may rank .co.uk websites higher for searches made in the UK.
• ?50 billion was spent online last year and this is set to grow by +10%

The UK?s Internet economy is growing at around 10% this year, which compared to lower overall growth in the wider UK economy, means it has never been more important for British companies to get their business online.

If you want to?get?your?business online professionally, we can help. Contact me today or fill out my?Website Worksheet.

UPDATE to this article…

We feel that there is an unfortunate need for this site because Nominet have been selective in what they have told the public about this proposal. In fact the proposal in the short press release has no information relating to the fact that current websites on the .co.uk (UK Business extension) will have no special rights which will enable them to move to the new business extension (.UK). It has also been very selective in other areas of information.The changes will see cyber squatters and brand squatters moving in and hijacking legitimate .co.uk website owners brands. Anyone who currently has a.co.uk website may need to pay huge amounts to keep their presence with a .uk starts.

Nominet claim that the.uk will run alongside the co.uk and will not become a rival to it. This is disingenuous in the extreme in our opinion. There is no doubt amongst independent Internet professionals we have spoken to that the .UK will be the preferred United Kingdom Internet extension within a number of years.

We estimate that Nominet could stand to make ?200-?300 million from UK businesses slugging it out in an auction environment. Nominet will them pocket the proceeds that in our opinion will have been legally forced from UK business into nothing more than brand protection. We also have concerns that Nominet have not engaged with the public about these changes. To our knowledge it has not emailed the owners of ?current .co.uk, .org.uk, .me.uk etc and informed them about the changes for their views, despite having all the emails on record. Unfortunately it doesn’t appear to have asked these people for their opinion. Therefore we feel it has failed in its duty to the UK public in making them aware of what is in their own words “significant changes.