More than 28,000 new .IE domains were registered during the first half of 2018, equivalent to 154 per day, according to the IE Domain Registry.

The organisation recently published its domain profile report for H1 2018. It tallies the number of new .IE registrations, geographical locations and domain holder types (e.g. a business or natural person).

The number of new .IE registrations through the first half of this year is up by 39% on the same period in 2017. Registrations increased in every province and in 31 of the 32 counties of Ireland.

IE Domain Registry maintains that its new policy of .IE domain liberalisation played an integral role in the growth spike. It commenced in March 2018, making it easier and faster to register a .IE domain.

Previously, .IE domain applicants had to prove both a connection to the island of Ireland and a valid claim to their desired .IE domain. The latter requirement has since been dropped.

In Association with

Nearly 63% of all new .IE domains so far this year were registered by businesses. Three-quarters of the overall .IE domain database are comprise companies, the IE Domain Registry pointed out.

At the end of June 2018, there were more than 252,000 .IE domains in the database.

Blacknight, the Carlow-based domain registrar and web hosting firm, handled the largest share of the new .IE registrations. CEO Michele Neylon (pictured) is now calling on IEDR to reduce the cost of the domain names and pass on the savings made by simplifying the registration process earlier this year.

“It’s no surprise that simpler registration rules have led to a growth in registration volumes. None. We knew that would happen,” Neylon adds.

Blacknight was a vocal advocate for the liberalisation of the registration rules and Neylon argues that it is now time to tackle the other obstacles to growth.

Reduce Prices

“If IEDR wants to really drive registration volumes, then it needs to reduce the wholesale price of IE domain names to bring them in line with other major European country-code domain names.

“The only beneficiary of the cost savings delivered by the rule changes in March has been IEDR itself, which has likely seen a reduction in costs associated with what was previously a labour-intensive process.

“The .IE domain names typically renew for in excess of €20, although prices are generally discounted on the first year. By contrast, .BE domain names (Belgium) cost about €10. UK names cost as little as €7.99 ex VAT.”

Neylon says that Irish customers have shown themselves to be exceptionally price-sensitive in relation to domains and hosting services – adding that they are right to be so.

“Businesses need to watch their costs and look after the pennies. We all have an obligation to get the best value we can.”

Also commenting on the H1 domain profile report was David Curtin, chief executive of the IE Domain Registry.

“The growth of .IE in regional parts of Ireland is a fantastic example of how the internet can help businesses in less infrastructurally developed counties overcome traditional barriers to growth, such as a smaller customer base or slower road and rail links,” said Curtin.