It has recently been announced that from September 1st, a new top-level domain name (or TLD for short) was going to be available i.e. ".nz"
So it means instead of having www.yourcompany.co.nz you could have www.yourcompany.nz.
The media's coverage have led some businesses to believe that they had to act immediately - but this isn't the case.
And we think it will take some time for NZ businesses to move to .nz exclusively – if in fact it happens at all. The launch of .co and .kiwi domain names did not see a large migration to these domains, so it may not happen with .nz either. But it is important that you make a decision at some point.
What does it mean for you?
You need to decide if you want to register the .nz version of your existing domain name. In the same way you might choose to register the .com version so that you have greater ownership of your brand name.
It also means you have the opportunity to get a completely new .nz domain name.
But you do have time to make this decision – so don't panic! You have six months to decide to register the .nz version of any domain you own.
Should I do it?
It's entirely up to you. If your company name is important, we recommend getting the .nz version of your existing domain name.
If you already have several domain names, you'll need to decide if it's worth getting .nz versions of all of them, because at a certain point they become hard to keep track of!
If for some reason you couldn't get your preferred .co.nz domain name at any time in the past, you might have the opportunity of getting the .nz version now. But it's not guaranteed because the person that has the .co.nz you wanted may want the .nz version as well and they have first dibs.
Once it's been registered – then what?
You can reserve the domain name for up to two years while you decide what to do with it. During this time, no one else will be able to register it.
You can choose to redirect the .nz version to your .co.nz version, but if you already have several domains pointing to a main one, it may not be as simple as you think, because your hosting could have limits on how many domain alias' you can have.
What if someone takes the .nz version of my .co.nz domain name?
For the first six months, you can register or reserve the .nz version of your name before anyone else – as long as you are eligible for Preferential Registration Eligibility (PRR). Up until March 2015 no one can reserve the .nz version of any domain that you own. (Note – you do have to own it – it can't just be one you want or think you should own!)
After that time, it's open to anyone to register a domain – even if it is the .nz version of your .co.nz
If you go to www.anyname.nz and enter your domain name, it will tell you what status your domain name is - it could be 'available', 'conflicted' or PRR - preferential registration.
What is this Preferential Registration Eligibility thing?
There are some limitations on you getting preferred registration depending on various factors. To find out what yours is, go to www.anyname.nz and enter your existing domain name (without the .co.nz). It will tell you what the status of the shortened domain. If it says status 'PPR' then you can register it (if you have the .co.nz already).
What if the status says 'conflicted'
This means that there is more than one domain owner who might be eligible for the .nz version. This could be one person who has www.name.co.nz and another who has www.name.org.nz or www.name.geek.nz In this case you will need to go through a process to resolve this conflict. Even if you own both these domains, you will still need to go through this process.
What about my .co.nz version?
If you have an existing .co.nz domain name, we don't recommend shifting your website to a .nz one straight away. It involves a bit of work and you will lose any search ranking you currently have. But you can have the .nz version redirected to your .co.nz so you can use it in any marketing material.
If you are about to launch a new website you may choose to use the .nz version at that point.
Should I release my .co.nz domain name?
We wouldn't recommend it - particularly if you've built up some search rankings for that site.
And not if your brand name is important to you.
I'm still confused.
You can find out more information and the status of your domain at www.anyname.nz.
