Domain name choices

A domain name is a website address, less the prefix (which is often "www.").

The domain name of this website is goodchurchwebsites.org.uk

Your website needs a name by which it can be found... the name you will put on almost every piece of paper your church prints. So it needs to be as memorable and easy to type as possible.

Domain names have a limited choice of suffixes. The most appropriate suffix for a church in the UK is .org.uk (If you have a megalomaniac streak, you might also consider the plain .org suffix.)

The chief advantages of using the org.uk suffix are:-

• .uk names are managed and administered in the UK by Nominet, the UK registry, and are subject to UK law.
• A given .org.uk name has a better chance of being available than a .org one.

But before you search for a name for your church, consider any other options you may have available.

You could ask your national/regional denominational headquarters for advice. For example, Anglican dioceses certainly have the option of creating names of the form somechurch.yourdiocese.anglican.org - so ask your Diocese if they could do that for you.

Or you may have a local group which administers a domain name on behalf of any interested local churches - if you have, your local Churches Together would know.

If you register your own domain name, make sure that an appropriate person is recorded as the named administrative contact.

Last updated: July 2008