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Apply to Pre-register a shorter .NZ Domain Name TODAY

Stake your claim in the .NZ land grab

Apply to Pre-register a shorter .NZ domain TODAY

new nz domain names

 

For the first time ever, ‘second level’ domains like the .co in ‘.co.nz’ and the .org in ‘.org.nz’ are going to become optional. You’ll be able to get .NZ domain names with them, without them, or both.

For example you will be able to register yourcompany.NZ as well as yourcompany.CO.NZ

This is the most significant thing to occur in the .NZ domain name space since 2001, when we first started registering domains for clients.

We are also allowing clients to apply to pre-register their .NZ domain from TODAY, instead of waiting until the 30th September.

Pre-Register a Shorter .NZ Domain Name

 When is this happening?

From 1pm, 30 September 2014, people will be able to register domain names directly before the .nz – e.g yourcompany.nz instead of, and as well as, yourcompany.co.nz

Through the Lounge Network, all of our clients will be able to apply to pre-register .NZ domains from TODAY. More details on applying for .NZ Domain pre-registration can be found in the sections further below.

Why is This Happening?

There are many reasons why people have asked for this change. Some of the main ones include:

  • More choice in .nz domain names.
  • More representative domain names.
  • Shorter domain names.
  • Aligning New Zealand with many other countries that have already made this change.

Historically the .co.nz domain extension was designed to be used by New Zealand businesses, where the .co represented ‘Company’. However over the years .co.nz has been used as the default preferred option for most organizations, whether they are a company or not. So the new shorter .nz domain is seen as being more representative as the default option.

 

What does this mean for you?

If you are a current .NZ domain name registrant, you may have ‘Preferential Rights’ (PRR) for the shorter version of your existing .NZ domain name. eg. If you currently have the domain yourcompany.co.nz, you may have preferential rights (PPR) to register yourcompany.nz. This is as long as no one else has already registered that domain using another domain extensions such as yourcompany.net.nz, and you registered your domain before May 2012.

If you do have preferential rights for the shorter version of your domain, then from 1pm, 30 September 2014 you maybe able to register that shorter .NZ domain before anyone else. Also from TODAY, you maybe able to apply to Pre-Register the shorter .NZ domain! [Read further down on how to do this]

This is all purely voluntary, so you can choose whether or not to get the shorter .NZ domain…it’s your choice. All your existing .NZ domain names you have registered with us, such as yourcompany.co.nz, will not be affected in anyway, so if you do nothing, nothing will change with your domain name, website or email accounts, and they will continue to operate as normal.

Many businesses will want to to register the shorter .NZ domain,  to protect their intellectual property, and to prevent anyone else registering it. We have seen a great interest in the new shorter .NZ domains from our clients already, with most wanting to register the shorter .nz domain, while also retaining their existing .co.nz domain.

Please note that even if you do buy the shorter .NZ version of your domain name, it needn’t affect your website or email services in any way, as you can retain both the .co.nz and .nz versions of your domain name, and redirect the shorter .nz URL to the .co.nz website address. More info on how to do this is further below.

What do I need to do, for applying to pre-register a shorter .NZ domain?

If you already have a .NZ domain registered with us such as yourcompany.co.nz, then you may have ‘Preferential Registration Eligibility’ (PRR) for the .NZ version of your domain. You can check this from inside the advanced version of our Domain Manager Control Panel at www.controlpanel.co.nz . The process for applying for pre-registration is shown in the tutorial below.

You can check the status of your .NZ domain and apply for pre-registration TODAY!

 

TUTORIAL – How to apply for .NZ Pre-Registration:

If you decide that you do want the shorter version of your existing .NZ domain name, you can first check it’s status by logging into the Advanced Version of our Domain Manager Control Panel at www.controlpanel.co.nz.

Pre-Register a Shorter .NZ Domain Name

To login, please just use the Domain Manager username and password that you normally use for logging into our normal Domain Manager Interface at www.domains.loungenetwork.co.nz If you have forgotten your login details, you can use the ‘forgot password’ feature, which you can find in the left column at www.domains.loungenetwork.co.nz  .
If you are an web hosting user on our Unmetered web hosting plans, then the login will be the same one that you use for your web hosting control panel.
Once logged in you will see a screen similar to that  below.

 

(1) From the left side menu, Click the ‘Domains‘ button.
(2) Next, click the ‘Second level .nz domains’ Link

The screen will now be displaying the shorter .NZ versions of your existing .NZ domains, that you have registered with us under the account, as per below.

(3) Arrow 3 shows you the shorter .NZ version of your current registered NZ domain name/s

(4) Arrow 4  shows you the shorter .NZ domains ‘status’. In this tutorial, it shows it is PRR, which means that the domain registrant has preferential rights to register it. However it may instead show it to be ‘Conflicted‘ or ‘Available‘. If this shows ‘Conflicted’ then you will need to follow the instructions further down this page. Please scroll down to the next section to view what the different domain status’s mean.

(5) If you do want to proceed in applying to pre-register the shorter .NZ domain, please click the ‘Pre-Register’ button to begin the application process. Then please follow all the onscreen instructions.

During the registration steps, please do make sure that you register the domain under your correct contact details, and not under ours. The Registrant and Admin contact details should be set to your contact details. Only the technical contact details should be set to ours.

Once you have completed the pre-registration application process, and your payment has been received, it will then be automatically submitted to the .NZ Registry from 1pm on the 30th September. Please read the section further down [What happens after I have submitted my application for pre-registration and have made payment?] , for more details.

 

What does your domain status mean?

After checking your new .nz name via your Domain Manager Control Panel, you will see it’s status confirming eligibility for that name. This could be one of the following:

Will be PRR (Preferential Registration or Reservation)
This means you have preferential registration or reservation for 6 months from 30th September 2014. You can register or reserve the shorter version of your name before anyone else provided that you are the registrant of the related existing .nz domain name (for example you could register anyname.nz if you are the registrant of the name anyname.co.nz. You’ve got Preferential Registration or Reservation eligibility until 1pm 30 March 2015 and no one else can register this name during that time. You can place your preferential registration through your Control Panel from today until 1pm 30 March 2015

Will be Available (Anyone can potentially register the domain)
You can place an application for pre-registration today via your Control Panel . Our registrar will submit this pre-registration application automatically to the NZ registry when the .NZ registration process opens from 1pm on the 30th September. This will be on a first come first served basis, so there is no guarantee you will get the domain.  Alternatively you can try and register the shorter version of the name on a ‘first-come, first-served’ basis from 1pm, 30 September 2014 via via your Control Panel .

Will be Conflicted
Your name has been registered in at least two second levels.  For example, Person A has example.co.nz and Person B has example.org.nz. To get the shorter version you’ll need to go through the ‘conflict’ process at anyname.nz from 1pm, 30 September 2014.

Will be Prohibited
No-one is able to register the shorter version of the name.This will be .nz domain names that cannot be registered directly at the second level. These names include ‘gov’, ‘government’, ‘com’, ‘edu’, ‘nic’.

 

The shorter version of my .NZ domain isn’t showing up in my control panel, why?

This maybe because you are logging in under another username, and you may have multiple domain manager accounts. Alternatively you may have one or more of your domain names with another domain provider.

If you do have your .nz domains with another provider and you want to apply for pre-registration through us, you will need to first transfer your domain into your control panel. This is simple, free, and all applied domain credit gets transferred with the domain. A tutorial showing how to transfer your domain into your control panel can be found at http://www.knowledgebase.loungenetwork.co.nz/index.php?op=view&t=306 . You will need the UDAI code from your domain provider. Alternatively you can email us with your domains UDAI, and we can transfer it for you. Once the domain is transferred in, you will then be able to check the status of the shorter .NZ version of your domain.

If you do believe your domain is registered through us but you can’t see it, please email us by return email, and we will do a search to see what username it is under,or if it is registered by another provider.

 

I want to apply to pre-register another .NZ domain, can I? Also can I bulk register .NZ domains?

Yes you can. Our system also allows bulk pre-registration .NZ domain applications. You can check whether the .NZ domain maybe available by using our ‘Pre-Register Domain’ tool from inside www.controlpanel.co.nz . Alternatively you can use our simpler Domain Manager website at www.domains.loungenetwork.co.nz

 

 Pre-Register a Shorter .NZ Domain Name

 

If you are applying for pre-registration via our www.controlpanel.co.nz website, once logged in you will see a screen similar to that below.

(1) From the left side menu, Click the ‘Domains‘ button.
(2) Click the ‘Pre-register Domain’ Link

Enter the .nz domains you want to check into the box, and follow the instructions.

Once you have completed the pre-registration application process, and your payment has been received, it will then be automatically submitted to the .NZ Registry from 1pm on the 30th September. Please read the section further down [What happens after I have submitted my application for pre-registration and have made payment?] , for more details.

 

What happens after I have submitted my application for pre-registration and have made payment?

After you have submitted your pre-registration application, you will be provided with payment details. You should make payment as soon as possible. Once we have received payment, you should receive an emailed invoice to confirm payment has been received, and an application confirmation email that it has been received. Please note that this won’t occur until payment has been received. Once this has all been done, the pre-registration application will be loaded into the Domain Registrars system. The Registrars system will make an automated registration attempt with the NZ Registry shortly after 1pm on the 30th September 2014. New .NZ domains will be registered with the NZ Registry on a first come, first served.  You should know shortly after this, whether your pre-registration has been successful or not.

Please note that we don’t offer any guarantee that you will be successful with your application for .NZ domain pre-registration. This is especially the case with new or ‘available’ .NZ domains . If you don’t get your chosen domain name, you will have the choice to select another .NZ domain name, or another domain extension if it is the same price.

 

My shorter .NZ registration has been successful. How do I redirect it to my existing website?

On the 30th September, if your shorter .NZ domain registration has been successful, you will be able to setup domain redirection to your existing website. This can be done simply from inside our Domain Manager Control Panel, either our advanced version or our simple version.You can use either control panel to setup URL forwarding.

Instructions for our Advanced Domain Control Panel can be found here.
Instructions for our Simple Domain Control Panel can be found here

 

What do I have to do if my .NZ domain shows that it will be conflicted, and I want the shorter .NZ domain?

If you have logged into your domain control panel at www.controlpanel.co.nz and discovered that the shorter .nz domain name will be conflicted, and you still want it, you will need to do the following.

From 1pm, 30 September 2014 you need to go to a special website at anyname.nz and let the Domain Name Commission know whether you:

● want to try and get the shorter version of your domain name
● don’t want it and don’t care who gets it
● don’t think anyone should get it
● don’t think anyone should get it and think it should become its own second level like .co.nz, .org.nz or .school.nz.

To do this you will need your UDAI code which you can generate from inside your control panel. The UDAI will be used to prove you are the domain registrant.

In cases where people can’t decide who should get it, either the Domain Name Commission may offer a facilitation service to try and work it out, or it won’t become available at all.
It may be that you hold all the versions of your name. In that case – come 1pm, 30 September 2014 – just go to the anyname.nz website and opt for one of your names to want the shorter version of.

 

Why are their two different Domain Control Panels?

At the Lounge Network, we have two different Domain Manager Control Panels. These are just different interfaces, connecting to the same domain registry backend. One of them is our Simple Domain Manager interface at www.domains.loungenetwork.co.nz. The other is our Advanced Domain Manager interface at www.controlpanel.co.nz , which has more functionality. Both will let you register, renew, and transfer domains in. However only our Advanced one will allow you to Pre-register domains which you have Preferential Registration Rights to (PRR). So you should use www.controlpanel.co.nz if you want to apply to pre-register PRR shorter .NZ domains, or check their status.

You can  use our Simpler Domain Manager at www.domains.loungenetwork.co.nz to pre-register other new available shorter .NZ domains. However our Advanced Domain Manager at www.controlpanel.co.nz will allow you to do everything.

I don’t care about this and don’t want to do anything. Will I lose my existing domain name?

So long as you continue to pay your normal domain registration fees, you can continue to use your existing .nz domain name as you always have. However, we suggest that you at least find out your shorter .NZ domain name’s status in relation to the introduction of the new, shorter names. This is particularly important if you have a conflicted domain name, as choices available to you could also impact someone else’s options.

 

Did you know that we now offer many other new domain extensions?

As well as .NZ domains, we now offer a total of over 60 other domain extensions. Many are brand new, and have only been added in recent weeks, and include extensions such as .kiwi, .today, .me, .guru, .tips, .builders, to name but a few! You are able to register these other new extensions today via our Domain Manager website at www.domains.loungenetwork.co.nz

A full list of domain extensions we can now register can be found below.

 

.com .net .org
.biz .info .tv
.us .mobi .co
.holdings .training .academy
.cab .shoes .land
.contractors .estate .clothing
.plumbing .singles .solutions
.center .bike .camera
.limo .voyage .careers
.diamonds .ventures .builders
.computer .domains .enterprises
.recipes .kitchen .construction
.systems .photos .today
.me .directory .lighting
.equipment .support .email
.management .company .tips
.technology .photography .gallery
.graphics .kiwi .guru

Pre-Register a Shorter .NZ Domain Name

 

These are the Key Dates for the new shorter .NZ domains:

From Today:
From now until 1pm on the 30 September, will be able to apply to pre-register BOTH Preferential Right Domains that are marked as PRR, and any other shorter available .NZ domain names. This is on a first-come, first-served basis, and we must receive payment before the application will be submitted to the NZ registry. You can apply by logging into www.controlpanel.co.nz

30 September 2014 – 1pm
From 1pm on the 30 September 2014 , shorter .NZ domains will able to be registered, and pre-registered domains will be submitted via our Registrars automated system for registration. Clients who don’t have domains which are conflicted should know on this day whether their pre-registration application has been successful or not.

30 March 2015 – 1pm
Final Day to register your PRR domain, before anyone can register it. From this day the shorter .NZ version of your PPR domain will become available for anyone else to register, if you don’t register or reserve it before this date.

Can I get additional help because I am not that tech savy, and don’t really understand all this?

This change maybe confusing for many. So we are here to try and help where we can. You will also be able to find more information on this change via  the .NZ Domain Commission website at anyname.nz

If you have any questions please reply to this email or email us at info@loungenetwork.co.nz, and we will try our best to help you. If you want us to apply to pre-register any domains for you without using the control panel, simply let us know the shorter domain you want, and we can take it from there.

We expect this week to be very busy with clients applying to pre-register shorter .NZ domains, before registrations go live at 1pm on the 30th September. So if you are contacting us, please bear with us during this very busy time.

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