"including ISP names negates the professional image created by having an own domain name. One also has to consider the implications of doing business world wide, just think what a negative impact one gets from having the term "demon" included. Funny in the UK maybe, but unacceptable in lots of other places. We like the .co.uk rather than .com, we are a British based company and not ashamed of advertising it! "

"It is now becoming important for companies to have their own domain. It allows them to stand out from the crowd. Also they are well-advised to grab it now, before someone else does;it is going to be the equivalent of the personalised car number plate of the future."

"We have a .com address as our ISP suggested that was best for an international business, which we are even though we're UK based. Having your own domain name is improtant for showing a professional front in my opinion. We're getting to the point where the first palce many people look for information is the web, rather than looking in traditional media first then maybe looking at the web site for more information afterwards - our web site is the first point of contact for most new customers so image is all important and worth the expense"

"There should be a mechanism to prevent trade names being bought up by speculators or, worse, by persons who use your name as an access page to porno sites. It is ridiculous for a new company to have to buy up their own TLD in every national version eg .co.uk, .com, .fr etc etc to prevent unscrupulous users"

"The costs in the UK are far too high when measured against other countries, especially the USA. Things will be changing dramatically in the next year, with cheap high bandwidth becoming available from new entrants to the market."

"I use a short name alias which is available from many sources. for example my directory of UK No Smoking Hotels which has a URL of http://www.source.co.uk/users/boscombe/guide.htm which is a bit of a mouthful is directed to by a URL of http://smokefree.web-page.net This forwarding address costs absolutely NOTHING, and all I have to put up with is a small banner advert in a separate window. So why do I need to pay for a domain name?"

"The annual charge I pay for maintaining domain registration, domain hosting and e-mail forwarding is £279, which I think is good value. I chose a .com domain because .co.uk is seen as very UK-centric, but I want to project an image for my business of its internationalism."

"For consistency all UK businesses should be co.uk - this appears to be in line with other non-usa countries. uk.com confuses the issue."

"Free or user web site of the form ~stel.con looks as though you are not a "real" or "serious" business. I also think Search Engines react better to "proper" domains"

"The answer above depend a bit on the type of business being much more important for some than others. If the net is going to be used extensively then the flexibility it gives is obviously very useful."

"It doesn't really cost that much anymore"

"There are as yet no reliable services on offer from UK ISPs for packaged domain name hosting, email store/forward etc., which is why we use a US hosting service"

"Having no service provider name in the www address seems to indicate a larger company and is therefore of use to some. It becomes reasonable once you are using a lot of email and have a web site avoiding over complexity with the addresses"

"Domain names are more than important for a business - they are crucial. My own, www.cartoon.co.uk, which I snapped up very early on, has been one of my business's major asstets - no-one ever forgets it!"

"Pricing varies significantly amongst ISPs, many of whom sell "packages" which are perhaps not exactly suited to your needs. If you know exactly what you want and are prepared to consider and negotiate with smaller ISPs you can get a good deal."