Nowadays, businesses cannot afford to lack an online presence. Simply having a website can allow you to get more customers and also increase brand awareness. For leading assistance with web design and .uk domain names, you can rely on Web Consultancy.
Important information about .uk domain names
The launch of shorter domain ending .uk took place in June 2014. At this time, registrants of existing domains registered before 23:59 October 28 2013 had 5 years to register the corresponding .uk domain name.
Now, the deadline for claiming reserved .uk domains has ended. This happened at 06.00 BST June 25 2019. Since the 1st of July, unclaimed domains that were previously reserved have been available. This is on a first come, first served basis and is a process with two stages.
Stage 1
This now completed release process ran from July 1st to July 5th. Domains that were reserved before became available in 5 different batches at 14.00 BST (UTC+1). The stages were as follows:
July 1st Batch 1 – Domains beginning 0-9, a-b
July 2nd Batch 2 – Domains beginning c-f
July 3rd Batch 3 – Domains beginning g-m
July 4th Batch 4 – Domains beginning n-s
July 5th Batch 5 – Domains beginning t-z
Stage 2
The second stage is from the 8th to the 12th of July and is for all remaining .uk domains. As a result, domains released in the first stage that weren’t registered will become available through the normal registration process via any registrar.
The stages are:
July 8th Batch 1 – Domains beginning 0-9, a-b
July 9th Batch 2 – Domains beginning c-f
July 10th Batch 3 – Domains beginning g-m
July 11th Batch 4 – Domains beginning n-s
July 12th Batch 5 – Domains beginning t-z
Why your business needs a .uk domain
The domains can benefit brands in different ways. This shorter domain combines a company name with a geographical location. You might think this is simple but it can be very powerful; it tells potential customers a lot about you. When you have a snappier domain, it can offer more opportunities for promotion and marketing. In addition, it can be easier for people to remember and reference on social media.
A .uk domain name can do more than improve your online presence. A huge number of businesses find having their own website helps them get more customers and also increases brand awareness. Research has found that more than 7 out of 10 consumers rank .uk domains as their top preference when shopping online.
Contact the Web Consultancy team
We were really excited to take part in the release of the domains. During it we managed to secure some fantastic, super premium .uk domain names. If you want to have a look at a small list of them and some of our top .co.uk domains, have a look here. You can also reach out to us if you have any questions and a member of our team will help however they can.