UK web domain registrations highest since dotcom boom

UK sees dotcom boost
UK sees dotcom boost

Nominet, the internet registry for .uk names, have come up with some interesting statistics this week, claiming that registrations of UK web domains are at their highest since the great dotcom boom, which ended in 2000.

Speaking at an event celebrating 10 years of web-hosting service 1&1, Phil Kingsland, director of marketing & communications at Nominet, revealed that 200,000 UK registrations were made in March, a number not reach since the first heyday of the internet back in 2000.

In 2000, a staggering 250,000 registrations were made in the UK – the biggest peak seen on the web.

The year 2000 marked what was the end of the dotcom 'bubble' – which eventually saw registrations of UK domains hit its lowest, at just 40,000 a month.

Not boom time yet

"It's not boom time yet, but what we are seeing is a combination of things," explained Kingsland.

"Renewals are dropping because of the recession but registrations are definitely growing. More people want to promote their brands online."

Although there is growth happening in the UK web sector, it does seem we have a way to go to catch up the US.

Currently, there are 80 million .com domains registered in America, compared to 8.5 million .uk domains in the UK.

Web host 1&1 also had some incredible statistics to share at the event. The company which has grown to become the largest web host in the world is delving into the world of cloud computing, with the launch of its online Office Suite, which allows companies to access their files from wherever they are through the web.

To make sure it has enough storage for being the biggest web host, the company revealed that it has 70,000 servers and five data centres.

This data centre haul is only beaten by Google and Intel.

Impressive, most impressive.

Marc Chacksfield

Marc Chacksfield is the Editor In Chief, Shortlist.com at DC Thomson. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.