Domain Name Registration Services -- Alternative Domain Names

If you don't want a .com name, or the name you were coveting is already taken and you don't have the stacks of cash needed to prise it out of the sweaty palms of its owner, you just might want to consider one of these alternative names...

However, you need to get a few facts straight first -- especially since certain companies do very little to highlight the differences between alternative names and .com names.

Broadly, there are 4 alternatives (the part YOU are buying is in red):-

• 3rd level domain names [e.g. name.domainname.com]

• Directory redirection [e.g. domainname.com/name]

• Potential future top domains [e.g. name.web or name.firm]

• Truly alternative top domains [e.g. name.earth or name.xxx]

Alternative names are not as valuable as normal domain names, period. No matter what you see, read or hear! So don't pay over the odds for an alternative name when it only costs $50 a year for a .com name...

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Image Online Design
Image Online Design is a very well-organized registry for the new .WEB TLD. Although there is a little confusion about the current status of .WEB, that should be resolved soon. In the meantime, this company enables quick registrations of .WEB domains.

Dot.God Registry
Home of .GOD and .SATAN. Make your heavenly or devilish choice! The site also contains useful info on how to configure your computer to use the "Expanded Top Level Domain Internet", plus other TLD resources. Check out their story on how the TLDs came about.

aDNS
ADNS operates the impressive .EARTH, .USA, .Z and .AMERICA top-level domains. Registrations are currently $14.95 per year. They also have an informative article about alternative domain names that's worth a read, plus usage statistics on their alternative root server network.

Nic Prime
NicPrime offers registration in 34 TLDs (.KIDZ, .REAL, .PRIMO, .KEWL, etc) with claims of over 100 more to come. Quote from their site: ".com is almost full--that's why the remaining domains are now so cheap. if you want a good domain, ours are still available, because we are just getting started with domain reservations"

The Jomino Group
The Jomino Group brings you over 20 different TLDs including .JACKASS, .LUTHERAN, .METHODIST, .XTREME, etc. Registrations are currently $25/year.

IPERDOME
Iperdome seems to be very busy developing the eDNS domain .per. They have been getting a fair amount of press and generally seem quite active. Remember that these are alternative domains so you will have to adjust your Root Servers accordingly. Pricing varies, depending on the level of service you require.

Come.to Surf.to Travel.to
Great site! This company offers directory redirection with easy-to-remember names like come.to/mysite or travel.to/britain. And you can't beat the price. Put a tiny 88x31 pixel banner on your site and the service is FREE.

EU.org
Pssst! Want a FREE domain name? EU.org will allow free domain names for individuals and non-profit organizations [companies, except in exceptional circumstances, need not apply...] under a variety of top domains. For instance, you can register under a European country [nl.eu.org, ie.eu.org etc.] or a few other countries. The site is mainly aimed at European users, although anyone can apply. There are some rules and regs you have to agree to, but it really is something for nothing!

ML.org
Monolith Internet Services offers a great selection of FREE services, including a completely free domain name of the form <name>.ml.org. Although it may not have quite the cachet of a .com name, it has none of the costs associated with such a name either. Great service!

NomiNation
This company will sell you a .uk.com subdomain if you want a cheaper option to a .uk domain or if your primary choice of domain name has already been taken in the uk. Note that a subdomain is a little different from a domain and may not carry exactly the same privileges.

Name.Space
PGPMedia gets in on the Alternative Domain name game, but their offering is meatier than most, and easier on the pocket too. They offer the software and know-how you need to get set up with alternate DNS servers, and to acquire ANY top level domain you fancy, except for .web, .biz and so on, of course

W3Corp.
W3Corp. offers very comprehensive domain registration services, ranging from standard TLDs such as .com, .net and others through to country domains [180 countries available] and even eDNS alternative domain names. However, they seem to specialize in eDNS domain names, even though this may not be apparent from their homepage. Prices range from $25 to $250 per year.

HANIC
Eager to get your hands on the new top domains? Well, they are not yet officially available, but HANIC will let you pre-register .news names for free. They will bill you as soon as the names become available, at $100 for 2 years + $50 per year after that.

TAT USA
If you like a gamble, and you want to get in with a chance on the 7 new domain names, TAT USA is accepting pre-registrations for a non-refundable $30 + a balance of $70 when the names become available. As they freely admit on the page, they do not guarantee to get the names, only to do their very best to try to secure the names. My view is that you should carefully weigh the potential loss of $30 against the benefit of getting the name you want. If it is worth it on balance then don't delay, sign up now...

This.Is
This.Is offers a novel twist on the usual domain names, as it will offer the domain name this.is/<name> for sums ranging from $200 to $30,000 per year. Of course, for that amount, you couldn't possibly expect to own the name, could you? You just get the right to use it for a limited number of hits!

Names By Net
Another twist on the normal domain names, Names By Net offers a <name.by.net> domain name for $95 per year. Note that this is not a true secondary domain name, but a third-level domain name which means you do not own the name.

WebNames Network
WebNames Network offers domain name forwarding services using sites under the ".web" top domain. So for instance you could be www.web/fred/ instead of some long mouthful of URL. A few caveats apply, however. Firstly, the .web names are not yet mainstream, so only a small % of people can access them. Also, the charge of $25 for six months should be weighed against the cost of registering your own .web name [currently around $30 a year...]