Getting Started

The Basics There are three primary elements to all websites:

Domain Names
A Hosting Account
Web Site Design

Domain Names

A domain name is literally the name that your customers will type into their web browsers when they want to reach your website.

You should think of your domain name like a business name registration. You pay to reserve your domain name on the internet so that only your business can use it.

Selecting a good domain name is very important; it will fundamentally impact the success of your website. If your domain name is difficult to say or remember, then it will confuse your potential visitors, and ultimately cost you sales.

Often businesses will register all common variants of their domain name to ensure that their customers will always reach their website, even if they forget to add .au or they spell the name incorrectly.

If your brand is well known, and you do not own all common variants, your competitors may register the variants of your domain name and direct visitors to their own websites - effectively stealing your sales leads!

Our domain pricing is competitive.

A Hosting Account

Your website needs space on a server that is connected to the internet at very high speeds 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Your domain names point to your hosting account. Your customers then enter one of your domain names into their browsers, and download your web site from the server, so that they can view it on their computer.

We provide a range of feature packed hosting plans.

Web Site Design

Your web site design is your actual site - how it looks, what it says and what it does. Your web site is made up of a number of web pages, and each web page is made up of images and code put together by your web designer.

Your web pages are uploaded to your hosting account so that they can be served to your customers when they type one of your domain names into their browsers.

If you are searching for a web designer, please contact us. We will discuss your requirements and provide recommendations to suitable web site designers.

Choosing a Good Domain Name

Selecting the right domain name will make or break your online presence. Domain names should always be easy to remember, and clearly represent your brand.

Australian Domain Extensions

Australian domain registrations are regulated, and you need to meet certain criteria to be eligible for each domain type.

.com.au
Australian businesses generally use the .com.au domain extension. Marketing research indicates that Australian customers looking to buy anything online will almost always try the .com.au first. The reason for this is that .com.au domains can only be used by registered Australian businesses, which provides credibility.

.net.au
The .net.au extension, like the .com.au extension, can only be used by registered Australian businesses. While it is typically used by businesses operating in the Internet market (for example, web site designers or internet service providers), it is available for registration by any Australian business, and should be registered to protect your name.

.id.au
The .id.au domain extension is reserved for Australian citizens or permanent residents. If you are setting up a personal website, you can register yourname.id.au or yournickname.id.au, or even yourfamilyname.id.au - as long as the name includes part of your legal name or a nickname you are known by, and you are a citizen or permanent resident of Australia, you can register one of these domains.

.org.au
The .org.au domain extension can be used only by registered Australian non-profit organisations, and is often a lot cheaper than a commercial domain name. It is the perfect choice if your organisation is non-profit and you need to save some money.

.asn.au
The .asn.au domain extension is not commonly used, but is available for registered Australian associations only.

Global Domain Extensions

Global domains are not ideal for Australian businesses because they do not indicate country of origin (marketing research indicates that Australian consumers feel more secure purchasing from a business with an Australian domain). Global domain names can be registered by anyone, for any purpose.

.com
Intended for commercial entities

.net
Intended for commercial entities operating in the Internet market

.org
Intended for non-profit organisations

.biz
Intended for businesses - this extension is one of the less common domain extensions

.info
Intended for informational websites - this extension is another one of the less common domain extensions

General Domain Tips

Keep it short and simple - if your domain is difficult to say, it will be difficult to type and remember
Always use the most correct domain extension for your business as your primary domain name (the one you advertise)
If your name or band is well known, make sure you register all common variants of your domain name to ensure your competitors don't steal your traffic
Redirect any variant domain names to your primary domain name to ensure your customers always reach your website
Avoid the use of hyphens '-' in domain names, as they are often difficult for customers to remember, and difficult to read out over the phone or on radio advertisements

Understanding the Order Process

If you are new to the web, sometimes the order process can be a little confusing. This section of the Getting Started Guide will walk you through ordering the services that are right for your website.

Domain Options

Do you want to register a new domain, transfer the registration of your current domain to our control, or simply leave your domain where it is and point it to our hosting? There is a major difference between each of these options, so you will need to be careful about which one you choose. Below are the exact definitions of each choice, and what it means to you.

Register new domain:
This option will register an entirely new domain for use with your hosting. If you are setting up a completely new website for the first time, you will need a new domain.

Transfer my existing domain:
This option requires you to already own a domain name. When you choose this option, you are asking to have the registration and management of your domain name transferred to That Web Place. If you would prefer to consolidate your web services and only have to worry about bills from one company, moving your existing domain over to us is a good option. Transferring your domain means you will get all existing registration time, plus a new registration period (two years for Australian domains, one year for global domains).

I will use my existing domain:
This option requires you to already own a domain name. When you choose this option, you are opting to leave the domain registration with the current provider and point it to your web hosting service with That Web Place. All you need to do is make changes to your domain's nameservers, through your domain registrar's control panel. We can help you do this after you have completed the signup process.

Select our A la Carte Hosting Plan

You can chose to either purchase a domain and nothing more, or to order web hosting as well. To order the domain name by itself, select the Domain registration only box. To order web hosting with your domain, select the Domain registration & new hosting plan. The drop down box next to Plan has our available plans.

Your Information

You will be required to input your personal details into the order form. This includes your full name, address, contact phone numbers and e-mail address. If any of your details change during the course of your hosting, please make sure you contact us and have your account updated as soon as possible. The username and password you are prompted for during this stage of the order process is your desired username and password to make changes to the configuration of your website. For security reasons, the password must start with a lowercase letter, and cannot contain your username as part of it.

Payment Options

Invoice (Direct Deposit, Cheque, M.O.):
Selecting this payment method will allow you to pay your account either manually by credit card, direct deposit through your Internet banking service, or by cheque or money order. Please note that we cannot activate your service until your account is paid.

Domain Transfer Process

If you selected to 'Transfer your existing domain' over to That Web Place, there is a follow up procedure required to complete the domain transfer.

Australian Domain Names

To transfer any .au domain, you will need to provide us with the domain name password. You can either enter this in the comments section of the order form, or e-mail it to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it after you have placed your order. If you do not know the password for your domain name, please ask us - our staff can assist you in recovering it.

Once the transfer process has been initiated, you will receive an email within 48 hours requesting authorisation for the domain transfer to proceed. Please follow the instructions contained within this email to authorise the transfer. Within 72 hours after this has been completed, the domain name will transfer and renew with That Web Place.

Transfer Tips

If you have the login to your current registrar, before initiating the transfer process please login to your registrar and ensure that all of your information is up-to-date (especially your email address, as this is where you will receive the authorisation e-mail you need to respond to)
You can recover your own domain password if your email address is up to date - just visit AuDA PasswordMail
If you do not know your domain password, and the email address stored for your domain is out of date, you will need to contact your old registrar and request a manual password retrieval - we can help you out with this.

Global Domain Names

To transfer global domain names, there are 4 steps - we can help you with these if you have trouble:

Ensure that your information is up-to-date at your current domain registrar (especially your email address).
If the domain name is locked, unlock it so it can be transferred.
Let us know that your domain name is ready to be transferred, and we will initiate the transfer.
You will receive an email within 48 hours requesting authorisation for the transfer - please follow the instructions contained within the email.

Within 72 hours of completing the domain transfer authorisation, the transfer will complete and your domain name will be available for management through the TWP domain management interface.

Please note: if you are transferring a .org or .biz domain, there is a further step: you will also need to request your EPP transfer key from your existing domain registrar, and let us know what it is as you complete step three.

Setting Up Your Website

Within 24 hours of completing the order process, you will have received a welcome e-mail from us. This e-mail will contain all of your login information for your website control panel, as well as details on logging in to our billing system.

If you are having your website professionally designed, this is the e-mail that you will need to forward on to your web designer. Once they have this e-mail, they can complete the setup of your website.

Contact our web design team if you would like to get your Website designed with That Web Place.

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