When creating a website, whether that be for your new small business or blog. One question that pops into the mind is “should I be using a .com or a .co.uk? 🤔”.
Well, to demystify this subject, I will cover the advantages and disadvantages of picking each. And also which one you SHOULD be using for the type of website you want to make.
I will also cover how much a .com and a .co.uk domain costs, difference between .co.uk/ .uk, best place to get one and also how to get one for free! Stay tuned!
.com Vs .co.uk (Which One Is Best For You?)
Instead of beating around the bush, I will give you the TL:DR version so you can get along with your day.
“For creating a local UK based small business or e-commerce website, a .co.uk is the best pick as you’ll want to be targeting a local audience. For targeting a global audience, a .com domain extension would be ideal as it allows you to attract traffic from around the world.”
If you are ready to get started with your website, you can get web hosting (for only £2.33/mo) with a free domain name. To get started, you can activate your BlueHost 50% discount here.
Well, that was pretty simple! But, as we all know, there are always exceptions to the rule. Wait what!? What about if you wanted to make a travel blog, forum, news website or maybe a drop shipping store? Lets dive into that now.
What About For Creating Different Types Of Websites?
To give you a better understanding of what type of domain extension (also knows as a TLD), would best fit your new website. I will give you 2 hypothetical scenarios that will hopefully steer you in the right direction.
Example 1: Travel Blog About UK & European Travels
Lets say you are a keen traveller and want to start documenting your adventures on a travel blog. To make it even tricker, you are a Brit who does a lot of travelling in the UK and Europe. So what would be the right domain name?
One would think a .co.uk domain would be suitable right? I mean, you are from the UK and travelling in the UK. It only makes sense right?
Well, actually no.
As you will be writing blog posts on destinations around the UK and Europe, who do you think would be reading your articles? In most cases, it will be potential tourists from North America, Australia, Asia and the list goes on.
In other words, people from all around the world will be searching for your travel tips around Europe. So in this instance, a .com would make sense as it will generate more visitors, interest and even income!
Example 2: UK E-commerce Store Selling Dog Toys
As another example, lets say you are a dog fanatic who makes your own homemade crafted tog toys (too bad I’m a cat person). Ok, so you’ve got a great product and wondering what domain to use.
Before even considering a domain, a good first step is to think about the scope of your business. Do you want to keep it local? Or do you want to branch out in the future and sell to a global market place?
Lets say you want to keep it to UK customers only. In this case, it makes perfect sense to pick a .co.uk or .uk TLD. Just be aware that if you want to sell overseas at a later point, it may harder.
Want to sell to an international audience? Then the opposite occurs. Choosing a .com would be a great fit as 95% of all web traffic comes from outside of the UK. This will allow you to target UK and international shoppers.
How Much Do .com & .co.uk Domain Extensions Cost?
Ok, so hopefully by now you’ve landed on the right type of domain extension for your new business endeavour or blog.
So where is the best place to purchase a domain name and how much do they cost?
If you are looking to purchase just a domain (with no website hosting). I personally use and recommend CrazyDomains which sell .co.uk domains for £14 a year and a .com for £8.30. Which is great value!
If you are still unsure about what domain provider is best for you, then you should definitely check out my best domain registrars UK list.
On the other hand, if you are looking to nab up a free domain name, you can head over to BlueHost which does website hosting from only £2.33/mo. I personally use BlueHost to run this very website you are on.
So if you are looking to turn your idea into an actual website, BlueHost is a great starting point.
What’s The Deal Between .co.uk & .uk Domain Names?
If you have been looking around for domains or have done a Google search in the past few months. You would have seen a moderately new .uk domain extension hanging about.
But what is it, and whats the difference?
In a nutshell, it all comes down to availability. ICANN created the .co.uk TLD in 1998 to cater for a more British focus domain name. However, fast forward 2 decades and there is simply less .co.uk domains to choose from.
This can be limiting for small businesses/ website owners as they can’t even find a suitable local domain name. Since 2014 however, ICANN has introduced a more streamlined .uk. While the .uk domain has been launched, it has only been available to those who had an existing brand of the same name.
As of mid 2019, these TLD .uk domains will start to become available to the public for their new websites. So going ahead, there will be a flood of new domains available.
Conclusion
Hopefully this article has cleared up the age old question of .com Vs .co.uk (well, maybe not age old). If there are any other questions or queries, please feel free to comment below and I will be happy to help you out!