Domain Extensions Explained

Australian Domain Extensions Explained

How familiar are you with the differences between various domain extensions? While you may recognise that different websites use a particular domain, you may not understand why.

Below is a guide that breaks down the differences between extensions used in domain names, while explaining which domain extension may best serve your business.

Domain Name Categories

The domain extensions you notice when you visit different websites can be broken down into the following subcategories:

• .com (commercial use)
• .org (non-profit or other organisations)
• .net (originally intended for networks, but free to use for any purpose)
• .int (limited to organisations endorsed by a treaty between nations)
• .edu (educational institutes and entities)
• .gov.au (Australian government)
• .com.au or .net.au (Australia-specific businesses)
• .id.au (regular Australian residents)

Business Owners

If you are running a business, a .com or .com.au domain name is the best approach for your website. Including the .au extension into the domain name is helpful if you are planning to do business exclusively in Australia.

The .net domain name is an option for any Australian business but is generally associated with networks or companies pertaining to the internet and telecommunications. If your business has no relation to those sectors, a .net domain name may confuse potential customers.

There are restrictions on both the .com.au and .net.au domain names, per the Australian Domain Name Policy law. The company must have a legitimate connection to Australia, such as being based in the country, registered in the country, or licensed to trade in Australia.

Any business, even a smaller one, which plans to serve clients in other countries may want to stick with the traditional .com domain name.

Non-Profits or Community Groups

A non-profit organisation or community group in Australia should use the .org domain name. If the .org domain name is not available, you may want to consider using .asn.au, as most Australians recognise that domain name as pertaining to organisations.

Regular Residents

If regular Australians wish to register a domain name, with the purposes of marketing themselves, they can use .id.au. Such a domain name, however, is only for personal websites. You cannot start a business with the .id.au extension and will have to use another if you eventually convert your personal website into a business site.

Choose an Australian Domain Registrar

DreamIT Host makes the process of buying domain names in Australia a painless one. We offer domain instant activation, which means clients do not need to wait hours or days to begin creating and activating their websites.

Not only do we guarantee cheaper domains compared to other providers, but we offer a number of premium features to Australian clients. These include Anycast DNS to improve website loading times, forwarding and redirecting of your domain to another domain, and ID protection that ensures your personal details are not stored within the WHOIS file.

DreamIT Host is an Australian domain registrar that also provides 24/7 Australian-based customer service to ensure a comfortable domain registration process. Pick the ideal domain name for your website, and allow DreamIT Host to help you secure that domain.

Click here to view DreamIT Host’s Domain Pricing.