A domain of your own - how to shop around

By MICHAEL FOREMAN

New Zealand internet domains are administered by InternetNZ and its subsidiary Domainz, but you can also register through one of its accredited agents - which includes all the major internet service providers as well as the specialist companies listed here.

It pays to shop around as there is a wide variation in prices and services offered.

Once you have set up a domain name, it can be used for e-mail addresses or to point to your website, but in both cases there will be further setting-up work.

For example, if your internet service provider (ISP) is already providing you with free web space, you will need to arrange "name server hosting" to link your domain name with your homepage. If you want to read e-mail sent to your domain name, you will need "e-mail hosting" or a "domain mailbox".

Domainz (www.domainz.co.nz): Domainz is responsible for the day-to-day running of the New Zealand domain space and its website is the authoritative source of background information on anything to do with .nz domains, including checking availability of names. The site offers online registration. Domain names cost $74 plus GST for the first year and $44 a year thereafter.

Free Parking (www.freeparking.co.nz): Free Parking offers New Zealand domain names for $60.95 plus GST in the first year, $39.95 plus GST in subsequent years, as well as US .com, .biz, .info, .org and .net names for $49.95 plus GST a year. Name server hosting is free. A sister company, The Web Farm (www.webfarm.co.nz) offers web hosting under an annual contract including domain name registration from $29.95 a month for 10 megabytes to $49.95 a month for 500.

Utopia (www.utopia.co.nz): Utopia's $29.95 a month standard web hosting service provides 80 megabytes of space and up to four e-mail accounts with unlimited aliases (multiple e-mail addresses for a single account). It also offers domain name registration and e-mail-only hosting, which forwards messages addressed to your domain name to your ISP, for $14.95 a month.

2day.com (www.2day.com): 2day.com offers standard web hosting for a $15 setup fee with no traffic charges from $15 a month for 2 megabytes of space to $200 for 500. A "personal mailbox" which allows you to read messages sent to a single address at your domain name costs $4 to set up and $4 a month, while the $10 a month "domain mailbox" will accept all e-mail addressed to your domain.

Interspeed (www.interspeed.co.nz): Windows and Linux-based hosting from $39.95 a month for 30 megabytes of space (Windows 2000/NT) or $360 for 24 months' of Linux-based hosting with 50 megabytes of server space. Interspeed also registers domain names for New Zealand, the US, Australia, the UK, South Africa and Canada.

Primehost (www.primehost.co.nz): Web hosting from $19.95 for 100 megabytes of server space to $49.95 for 350 megabytes with no setup charges. All plans include the use of your own domain name, which may also be registered here for $83.25 for the first year and $59.63 a year thereafter.

www.myhost.co.nz

www.pdom.com

freehost.co.nz

www.netsmart.co.nz

www.iserve.co.nz

www.digiweb.co.nz

www.registerdirect.co.nz

www.domains.nzco.net

www.magicz.co.nz

www.webdrive.co.nz