A domain name is your web address on the Internet, it's the core of your Internet identity. Your customers will type your domain name (e.g. xyzcompany.co.uk) into their browser to access your website. No two parties can ever hold the same domain name simultaneously, so your Internet identity is totally unique.

On the Technical side, a domain name (web address) is a way of identifying and locating computers on the Internet. While computers use Internet Protocol (IP) numbers (e.g. 207.35.39.10) to locate each other on the Internet, people find these numbers hard to remember. So, domain names were developed to let us use easily remembered words and phrases to identify Internet addresses.

In the same way a customer needs to know your phone number in order to call you, so too must they know your domain name so they can locate your website on the Internet. Your customers will remember this name and use it to find out about your products and services you advertise on your website.

ntl will provide free registration of one .co.uk domain name for your website once you have purchased one of our virtual web hosting options. You'll need this domain name before you can publish your website on the Internet. If you have an existing domain name you can transfer this to ntl once you have purchased your virtual web hosting option. The administration area of your virtual web hosting account provides details on how to set up your domain name.

This depends on what top level domain (or domain name ending) you choose. ntl virtual web hosting offers you the option of two top-level domains: .uk domains and .com domains.

• .uk (as in ntl.co.uk) is the top-level domain for domains registered with the United Kingdom Domain Name Registration Authority. The registration fee for your first .uk top-level domain is included with your hosting option. Renewal fees are payable by you. If you choose the .uk top-level domain, you must also decide on a second level domain. The current choice is between .co.uk for commercial organisations (as in ntl.co.uk) and .org.uk for other types of organisation (as in nationalgallery.org.uk) ·
• .com (as in ntl.com) is a non-national top-level domain favoured by many large commercial organisations. The registration fee for a .com domain is not included in with your virtual web hosting option. This cost will be charged separately and is currently £50 +VAT, for 2 years, plus renewal fees.

If you wish to register additional co.uk domain names, these will also be charged separately. Currently the charge is £10 +VAT, for 2 years, plus renewal fees.

When you have created a hosting account with us, you can start searching for the domain name that you want for your website. Domain names have to follow a certain form and they have to be unique. A domain name can be up to 26 characters long, and can include letters and numbers. You can't include spaces or special characters such as exclamation marks (!), or underscores (_).

Try to think of a domain name as close to your company name as possible as this will make it easier for your customers to remember. Or, you could choose a name totally different to your company name if you think your company name is long or uninteresting, the choice is yours.

You can choose and apply to register a domain name from within your virtual web hosting administration area. Simply log on with your account number and password, and choose "your domain" from the left hand control panel. Further instructions are given once you reach this stage.

When you submit your preferred domain name, a check is performed with the domain name registering body (e.g. Nominet for .co.uk domain names and Network Solutions for .com) to see if it has already been registered. If it hasn't, you can continue with the registration process and register the name for yourself.

There are a number of historical and practical reasons for this. When there were fewer domains in the world, commercial domains were mostly in the USA and their domain names ended in .com (indicating a commercial domain). As domain numbers increased, national (country) domain name registration authorities were created which issued domain names specific to their own countries - a good example is the UK's Nominet authority, which registers domain names ending in .co.uk (indicating a commercial domain based in the United Kingdom).

ntl will register one .co.uk domain name for free with your hosting option, but this doesn't mean to say you can't also register a .com domain name, or additional .co.uk domain names for an additional cost.