Getting a web domain..

[Merlin66]

Is there any way of registering a .com or .com.au address without being a "registered business" with an ABN number?

[mithrandir]

.com .net and maybe .org are easy. I've had a .net for years and could have had the .com if I'd been prepared to pay the domain squatters.

It's .com.au that require a relationship between the domain and the company.

[gary]

Hi Ken,

With regards .com.au

See http://www.auda.org.au/policies/auda-2008-05/


SCHEDULE C

ELIGIBILITY AND ALLOCATION RULES FOR COM.AU

The com.au 2LD is for commercial purposes.

The following rules are to be read in conjunction with the Eligibility and Allocation Rules for All Open 2LDs, contained in Schedule A of this document.

1. To be eligible for a domain name in the com.au 2LD, registrants must be:
a) an Australian registered company; or
b) trading under a registered business name in any Australian State or Territory; or
c) an Australian partnership or sole trader; or
d) a foreign company licensed to trade in Australia; or
e) an owner of an Australian Registered Trade Mark; or
f) an applicant for an Australian Registered Trade Mark; or
g) an association incorporated in any Australian State or Territory; or
h) an Australian commercial statutory body.

2. Domain names in the com.au 2LD must be:
a) an exact match, abbreviation or acronym of the registrant’s name or trademark; or
b) otherwise closely and substantially connected to the registrant.

.com domains are somewhat easier to obtain. Consider for a moment that
nobody out of Australia is interested in what an ABN is and note that an ABN is not
necessarily a pre-requisite for a .com.au domain either.

At a minimum, you would need to register with Fair Trading as a sole trader.
You are not required to register for GST if your annual turnover is less than $75,000.

Be warned that acting as a Sole Trader under your own TFN might leave you personally
vulnerable if someone has a legal issue over your web site. You would need an accountant to advise.

[multiweb]

The rules are that you needed an ABN to get a .com.au and there was a name derivation/check so mycompanyA P/L could buy mycompanyA.com.au but not mycompanyB.com.au. But I've found over the years that the AUDA has relaxed a lot of things and depending on which registrar you go through you can buy pretty much anything you want. It's not enforced anymore. Last time I rang the AUDA (years ago) and asked them what was going on with a customer of mine who had a competitor who got .com.au with their company name on it, they didn't seem to be able to do anything about it. :shrug: So that's the general vibe right now. It's a bit of a mess actually.

[redbeard]

Hi,

I used MelbourneIT to set up a domain for me. It was a .com as at the time it was very easy and simple to do with no ABN needed.

As for hosting the data, the host I went with did all the backend stuff which linked the URL to the hosting.

Cheers!

[Merlin66]

Crazy Domains etc do require an ABN # for com.au
Unfortunately the .com version has been taken (but appears to be inactive)
I'll go for the .net option.....

[Poita]

Yep you are right, you have to have an ABN to get the .com.au
but getting an ABN is easy and cheap really, so it's not too much of a barrier.

.net works just as well though, as long as a competitor doesn't come along with the .au version, you should be fine.

I register with godaddy as they are the cheapest usually.

[Barrykgerdes]

My simple web is a ".com" now but the free version ".dyndns.org" still works. Trevor hosts it at his house so I am limited to a 100KB/s speed due to his optus cable. Big uploads are not a real problem as I can do it straight onto the server from a DVD.

Barry

[whzzz28]

In slightly related news:

Do not use MelbourneIT or Crazy Domains.

MelbourneIT are notorious for being terrible, but there glad to take your money.

Crazy domains doesn't really have a good name for itself.
See: http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=832887

Also if you plan on getting hosting to use with your domain, do not register them together. AKA if you use Ventraip for hosting, register the domain elsewhere. Will save you a lot of hassles if you decide to move hosting providers (among other things).

Domains are cheap for a .com/.net etc. Around $8/yr or so.
.com.au are more expensive and generally require some proof of business - and the domain must relate in some form to your business name. So you can't have waivingflailinginflatabletubeman.co m.au if your business sells cats and dogs.

There are a ton of name providers out there, i personally use Namecheap and have not had any issues. I do not recommend godaddy.com, but that is a personal thing as i dislike decisions the company has made.
https://www.namecheap.com/

[joe_smith]

Iv been with Crazy Domains for over two years now and I have had no problems with them or their service. (touchwood :) )

[cybereye]

I also use Crazy Domains and I've used Cheap Domains - I got my domain name from Cheap Domains and Crazy Domains does the email hosting for said domain. No problems whatsoever!

Cheers,
Mario

PS I note the Whirlpool forum complaints were from 2007...

[AstroFlyer]

The topic started in 2007, but last comments are recent.
I've used Crazy Domains for registering names without any problems.
Never used them for hosting, been using DreamHost for many years.
Love it!

[mithrandir]

GoDaddy have changed a bit over the years and got rather more annoying but I've never had any issues with them as my registrar. With a 5 year renewal I only ever get the once a year "confirm your whois data" email.

[Tandum]

I have 2 sites on Crazy Domains and email for them goes off line a lot.

[Grimmeister]

Not sure on the hard and fast but generally for .com.au yes you need an abn. As for hosting etc, crazy domains are where i buy domains as they are cheap. For hosting I use blue host .com again cheap ($6/month) but offers unlimited data, databases, email hosting and a range of other services like php, my SQL etc etc. So you can run Wordpress or joomla.

Oh and don't rule out the .co domains either no abn or other proof required. E.g. www.astrophotography.co (http://www.astrophotography.co)

Cheers