United Kingdom introduces shorter domain names

The United Kingdom has introduced shorter domain names that end in ‘.uk’ and no longer have a prefix like ‘.co’ or ‘.org’. Owners of an existing domain in many cases automatically receive a ‘.uk’ address.

The shorter domain names were introduced on Tuesday, reports Nominet, the company that manages the ‘.uk’ part of the internet. Until now it was only possible for UK domain names to register a domain ending in ‘.co.uk’, .’org.uk’, ‘.me.uk’, ‘.net.uk’, ‘.plc. uk” or “.ltd.uk”.

In many cases, owners of an existing UK domain automatically receive a .uk address; until 2019 they will not pay any money for this. If there are several claims on one domain name, for example because the same domain name is registered under both ‘co.uk’ and ‘org.uk’, the owner of the ‘co.uk’ address will be given priority.

Plans for shorter UK domain names were initially brushed aside because it would confuse consumers too much, but have now been implemented. A domain name costs £3.50 with a provider with a registration of one year, but on top of that are the costs that the provider charges the customer.