Domain name prices continue to drop

Pro

Small businesses seeking to emphasise their Irish identity are likely to find it considerably cheaper to buy a .ie domain name this year.

The IEDR reduced the rate of registering a .ie domain from €99 to €79 at the beginning of the year, but intense competition and discounting by providers has led to significant reductions, bringing it closer into line with the .com domain.

Hosting company Blacknight Solutions claims it can provide a business with a .ie domain name for as little as €30 and Lets Host is advertising it at €29 plus VAT. Host Ireland has an offer of €9.95 for .ie domain name registration.

Michelle Neylon, managing director of Blacknight Solutions, said it could provide a .ie domain, space for a Web site and email for €65 plus VAT.

Richard Tarr, general manager of Host Ireland, said the €9.95 price it was charging for a .ie domain name was possible because it was being heavily subsidised and the company “was picking up an awful lot of business as a result”. 

Domain name options are also increasing with the arrival of .EU and .mobi this year. The .EU registration is expected to be available from April and might prove attractive for companies that wish to be identified with the EU as a market.

The .mobi domain is designed for people who want to deliver mobile data services and to help customers identify Websites and applications designed specifically for mobile devices.

Mobile Top Level Domain Ltd (mTLD), which administers the .mobi domain, has opened its European headquarters in Dublin. The domain should be available in the late summer be priced at a similar level to other domain names.

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