Australian Domain Registration: Where Shopping Around Can Save You Hundreds Per Year
Almost every Australian business, and many individuals, now own a domain name. Whether you're using it for your website, email, or both, your domain name is an essential and valuable part of your online identity. What most people don't know, is that domain name registration prices have fallen significantly, and they are likely being overcharged by their domain name registrar.
Most domain names are registered by web developers for their client's. Back in the 1990s and early 2000s, there was only one company where you could order a.com.au domain name, and that was a company called Melbourne IT. They charged $140 for a two year. Australian registration, and became one of the largest IT companies in Australia.
That $140.com.au registration cost, was of course, passed on to the business or individual wanting a website. Being that it also takes a (short) while to register, developers also charged for their time doing the registration. This meant that the final price of the domain name was $140 to $200.
While certainly not exorbitant for most big businesses, but to a small business or an individual, that's quite a lot.
That changed in 2001, when Melbourne IT lost control of the.au domain name registration market, and the registration process was opened up to alternative domain name registrars.
With the introduction of new registrars, competition heated up, and eventually discount businesses entered the market for Australian domain registration.
Pricing for a.au domain name dropped to as little as $19.95 for a two year registration, if you knew who to buy through. These days, registrations through Melbourne IT (who still charge $140) are considered by many to be over-priced. As a domain name is the same no matter who you register it with, that $120.05 difference, every two years, starts to look unreasonable.
If you've got a Australian domain the price of transferring it to one of the cheaper registrars in Australia, is free if you're doing it yourself, or a small cost if you're doing it through your web developer.
You'll still have the same domain name, and wont experience any downtime to your email or website, while saving money on recurring registration costs.
The savings are even more significant if you own multiple domain names.
While cost alone is just one factor in most business decisions, there are other advantages in choosing one of the alternate Australians domain registration services.
Firstly, you will likely get a better level of support, should you ever have an issue with your domain name. Granted, this is extremely rare, but when you do have a problem, it most often means that your domain name registration has lapsed, and that means your website and email addresses are offline.
The knowledge that in this scenario you'll have a responsive business ready to help you, should be a relief. While Melbourne IT do have a large staff, like most big businesses, they have a habit of keeping their client's on hold when on the phone, or having long wait times for email responses, according to many reports.
The second advantage is the availability of other more reasonably priced services, like web hosting. A cheaper Australian domain name registrar will likely also offer cheaper hosting, web development, and other extras like SSL certificates and dedicated IP addresses.
You may not need them immediately, but the knowledge that you can order them in the future, and not pay more than you should, should reassure you that you're with a customer oriented business.
Have a look at your Australian domain registration costs, and the alternative registrars you might want to use, and see the savings and benefits offered. The small amount of time you spend moving to another registrar, will be compensated significantly when your recurring domain name costs drop, and the service level you receive is improved.
Most domain names are registered by web developers for their client's. Back in the 1990s and early 2000s, there was only one company where you could order a.com.au domain name, and that was a company called Melbourne IT. They charged $140 for a two year. Australian registration, and became one of the largest IT companies in Australia.
That $140.com.au registration cost, was of course, passed on to the business or individual wanting a website. Being that it also takes a (short) while to register, developers also charged for their time doing the registration. This meant that the final price of the domain name was $140 to $200.
While certainly not exorbitant for most big businesses, but to a small business or an individual, that's quite a lot.
That changed in 2001, when Melbourne IT lost control of the.au domain name registration market, and the registration process was opened up to alternative domain name registrars.
With the introduction of new registrars, competition heated up, and eventually discount businesses entered the market for Australian domain registration.
Pricing for a.au domain name dropped to as little as $19.95 for a two year registration, if you knew who to buy through. These days, registrations through Melbourne IT (who still charge $140) are considered by many to be over-priced. As a domain name is the same no matter who you register it with, that $120.05 difference, every two years, starts to look unreasonable.
If you've got a Australian domain the price of transferring it to one of the cheaper registrars in Australia, is free if you're doing it yourself, or a small cost if you're doing it through your web developer.
You'll still have the same domain name, and wont experience any downtime to your email or website, while saving money on recurring registration costs.
The savings are even more significant if you own multiple domain names.
While cost alone is just one factor in most business decisions, there are other advantages in choosing one of the alternate Australians domain registration services.
Firstly, you will likely get a better level of support, should you ever have an issue with your domain name. Granted, this is extremely rare, but when you do have a problem, it most often means that your domain name registration has lapsed, and that means your website and email addresses are offline.
The knowledge that in this scenario you'll have a responsive business ready to help you, should be a relief. While Melbourne IT do have a large staff, like most big businesses, they have a habit of keeping their client's on hold when on the phone, or having long wait times for email responses, according to many reports.
The second advantage is the availability of other more reasonably priced services, like web hosting. A cheaper Australian domain name registrar will likely also offer cheaper hosting, web development, and other extras like SSL certificates and dedicated IP addresses.
You may not need them immediately, but the knowledge that you can order them in the future, and not pay more than you should, should reassure you that you're with a customer oriented business.
Have a look at your Australian domain registration costs, and the alternative registrars you might want to use, and see the savings and benefits offered. The small amount of time you spend moving to another registrar, will be compensated significantly when your recurring domain name costs drop, and the service level you receive is improved.
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