Are you more drawn to .IE or .COM domains when searching?

[adrian]

Hey all,

Thinking of starting a small sideline web business, early stages yet so will not go into details as I don't even know them yet! Anyway, would you rather see a (for example) www.myMechanic.ie or a www.myMechanic.com for a classifieds/listing/directory web site? It's only an example but one which makes the point.

Just wanted to get an idea of what you web users think.

A

[colm_mcm]

.ie would obviously suggest an Irish website. I'd have a preference for that if I needed an Irish site.

.ie sites are a bit of a pain to get in comparison to .com addresses.

[TopCat]

As per Colm, if I was looking for a service to be provided within the country, I'd be more drawn to a .ie

[karlf]

It would depend what I was looking for. For a service (like a mechanic in your example) I'd want .ie as I'm only going to take my car to a mechanic in Ireland. But if I was buying something (like car parts or clothes) I'd go with .com see whats the cheapest option available and go with that.

[CJ]

In addition to what the other have said, the TLD that you choose should have you target market in mind i.e. are you doing business in Ireland only or further afield. If you're talking about a web design biz, I would assume that the domain name will form part of your business identity - something else to consider.

In the past .ie domains where considered to be more prestigious, this is not the case since the IEDR opened up the domain to non-business and organisational entities.

CJ

[gfalls]

Ever thought of a .eu suffix instead? I hear there all the rage at the moment..

[adrian]

Thanks all, appreciate the input.

[kevinod]

If I were you I'd register both .com and .ie if they're available, then you'd catch whichever people try.

[optical illusion]

It all depends on your target market ultimately.

I'm patriotic so I would always go out of my way to find a .ie domain. That's just me, though.

[finers]

Need to have a business to register for an .ie domain;)

As stated if ur target is local or international.
Try both and have a reference page at the start;)?

[colm_mcm]

Need to have a business to register for an .ie domain;)

Not true. depends on the name of the site you've got and whether it fits in with what you want to do with the site.

[finers]

Need to have a business to register for an .ie domain;)

Not true. depends on the name of the site you've got and whether it fits in with what you want to do with the site.

Wellll This is the information i got when trying to registering a .ie
from http://www.register365.com.

I am going to try register one in a month or two and see what happens,
Maybe there not that strict with this rule set.

Registration Criteria
Ireland

Registration is restricted to 3 categories of entity:

(1) Companies registered in Ireland

(2) Entities possessing a 'real and substantive connection' with Ireland, for example those that trade in Ireland.

(3) Entities possessing a registered Irish, United Kingdom or European Community trademark

In all situations there is no restriction on the number of domains names that may be held by a single entity.
However, the proposed domain name must still closely correspond to the trademark or company name but may include plurals, descriptors or non descriptive elements such as numbers or letters and may also differ in respect of signs, symbols or punctuation. It is possible for a non Irish entity to be recorded as the legal registrant of a domain name in situations 2 and 3.

[colm_mcm]

Those rules listed above only deal with whether you have an Irish connection or not. nothing about the commercial nature or otherwise of your site.

[finers]

Those rules listed above only deal with whether you have an Irish connection or not. nothing about the commercial nature or otherwise of your site.

How does "Companies" and companies who "trade" in Ireland not have a commercial nature

If it's just looking for an Irish connection without a commercial nature surely the 4.5 million people are eligible to apply which is NOT the case.

Saying this i have never registered a .ie domain have done for .com's etc.

.com's are first come first served, .ie's you do have to be vetted!! be4 the domain is granted.

The link says it all, saying this I'm sure one could get one by not following the criteria.

A. Sole Trader = needs Vat number / Proof of business

B. Limited Company registering its own name = same as above

C. Limited Company registering a trading name = same as above

D. Limited Company registered outside Ireland = proof of trading in ireland

E. Unincorporated Association/Club = roof of Trading letter from your accountant, bank manager or solicitor.

G. Publication/Newspaper = Proof / Proof of buiness.

Sourced:
http://www.nua.ie/irishdomainrequirements.htm

Sorry if this is gone way off topic but i really do not think average joe can be eligible for a .ie domain according to these criteria.

[colm_mcm]

The IEDR added a discretionary name category, this covers websites that don't fall into the existing categories.

They require a detailed letter setting out the aims of the website, and in some cases require more proof.

more details on www.iedr.ie

[finers]

Still seems very ambiguous, basically states if you don't have a commercial license you will need allot of proof and persuasion to back the preposed site.

So i would say u would have to prove that the site would be beneficial for Ireland.

So it's not just Business nor do you have to just prove the site has connections with Ireland.

Don't think there is a clear answer as it's up to the discretion of idr.

Interesting do.

[colm_mcm]

Still seems very ambiguous, basically states if you don't have a commercial license you will need allot of proof and persuasion to back the preposed site.

It's not as hard as it sounds.

[finers]

Still seems very ambiguous, basically states if you don't have a commercial license you will need allot of proof and persuasion to back the preposed site.

It's not as hard as it sounds.

Have you tried it? would like to know how strict are as i know a friend of mine went through allot of trouble registering one.

[colm_mcm]

I did it a while back, only had to write a few emails, give some personal details and they were happy with that. I assume it depends greatly on the type of site you're thinking of.

[d_dan]

when it comes to cars i alllwasy go by the country.
cos .com to me is the US and nothing from their cars fit others. EG. us spec celica and jap and so on

[Bernard]

when it comes to cars i alllwasy go by the country.
cos .com to me is the US and nothing from their cars fit others. EG. us spec celica and jap and so on

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