Domain Registration: Do I need a Hosting Service?

Choosing the correct Hosting service

DomainNameRegistrationWhen you order a domain name you may also select a hosting service, this is entirely optional and may not even be required. Below, we will explain the three options you have.

  • No Hosting – Without hosting, your domain name will be parked. You will have access to all of our free domain parking features such as DNS Manager, Email forwarding, Web forwarding etc.
  • Email Hosting – This provides a professionally hosted email service. Choose this option if you require email for your domain name but do not plan to host a web site (yet) – or you plan to host your website elsewhere such as as Wix or Weebly. With this service you can connect your domain to any external service and use our Profession Email Hosting to run/manage your email services.
  • Web Hosting – This provides a full Web Hosting service for your domain name. You can host a web site, use website builder, manage email and every other service you might need for your domain. This is the best option if you decide to build your own website, upload an existing website or hire a web designer.

What if I make a mistake?

You can’t make a mistake! If you choose the wrong plan, we can cancel, refund or upgrade to get you on the the right plan at any time later. So don’t worry. If in doubt, choose the smallest plan and upgrade later when (and if) required.

.UK Anniversary Promotional Offer!

happybirthday1We’ve got a present for you!

As .uk reaches its first birthday this June, we have a great deal lined up so you can register your own .uk domain for just £1 ex VAT. Here’s how it works:

  • Register your .uk domain with us by 12 PM (BST) 31 July 2015 and get it for just £1 ex VAT. This promotion applies to both new registrations and any .uk domains reserved for owners of existing .co.uk, .org.uk or .me.uk domains.
  • When your .uk domain needs to be renewed, you will be charged our standard registration rate for .uk domains if you decide to renew.
  • If you are registering a .uk domain that is reserved for you and you choose not to renew it, it will become available for anyone to register.
  • Multi-year registrations are not included in the promotion and will be charged at our standard registration rate for .uk domains.

-> Register your .UK domain now ->

Free Prize Draw

Along with our fantastic promotion, you will also have a chance to win a weekly prize to the value of £1,000! Simply register your .uk domain during the promotional period to be automatically entered into the prize draw for that week. A total of £7,000 worth of prizes is up for grabs!

Please see the free prize draw terms and conditions for full details. Winners will be announced on agreatplacetobe.co.uk and will be contacted directly to claim their prize.

Datacentres and Servers

On Demand IT Infrastructure

Our servers are housed in six state-of-the art datacentres, with On Demand IT Infrastructure backed by complete redundancy in power, HVAC, fire suppression, network connectivity and security.

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Our datacentre partners own and manage 155,000 square feet of datacentre space, with an additional 12,000 square feet of expansion capability. Each facility — wholly owned, managed and operated by our datacentre partner — is equipped to handle any challenge based on these unique advantages:

Our secure datacentres are monitored 24×7 to ensure your servers are always safe

  • N+1 power generator architecture
  • N+2 redundant datacentre HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) systems
  • Advanced fire suppression systems to keep any fires localised
  • Preventive maintenance meets or exceeds manufacturers recommended practices
  • Maintenance performed regularly by our own highly trained personnel
  • Physical Datacentre Security

SecurityAccess to the datacentres is protected 24 hours a day. In order to gain entry into the data centre all guests must pass through two-factor authentication barriers. A Northern Proximity security badge is required for entry/exit on all data centre doors in the facility. Shifts patrol the data centre and facility area regularly, and motion-sensitive cameras throughout the facilities track all data centre activity.

Multiple-Layer Network Security

Our data centres take network reliability and performance to the next level. We maximise our network security protection by adding Cisco Guard XT appliances and Arbor Peakflow protection against DDoS attacks that could harm your business.

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Our data centres combine cutting-edge security technology, best practices and a team of certified senior-level professionals to help ensure that you can safely manage and grow your business. Using state-of-the-art traffic profiling and anomaly detection capabilities, we manage and secure our networks, pinpoint and troubleshoot network attacks, monitor your servers and applications, and analyse network security performance issues.

DDoS Attack Response

Once a DDos attack is detected and confirmed by the Network Operations, the affected traffic is routed through a DDoS Mitigation Service. This filters out the attack traffic and allows the legitimate traffic to continue to its original destination. When the attack has subsided, the original direct path between the destination and the rest of the Internet is restored.

Fully Redundant Datacentre Power

If any of our datacentres were to experience a power disruption for any reason, you’re covered. That’s because we have a complete power management system, including backup generators in the unlikely event that normal power supplies fail.

Uninterrupted Power Supply

dc3Servers within our data centres are fed power through an Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) that takes raw power from a utility to control, modulate, and supply it to thousands of individual servers.

The UPS prevents power surges or local brown outs from affecting server performance.

Power typically flows from the local utility to our UPS system to power our servers and the building’s lighting, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. In the unlikely event that the local utility power supply is disrupted, our N+1 generator architecture assures that backup generators kick in automatically.

N+1 Backup Generators

Once the power transfer switches sense a decline in power from the local utility, they automatically signal diesel-powered generators to start up and switch power flow to the generators. In the few seconds between the decline in power from the utility and switch over to our backup generators, our UPS units are supplied with power through a battery system that ensures the power supply to servers is uninterrupted.

Should any generator fail, we have additional backup generators that kick in automatically to keep power supplies flowing. And if by any chance there is an extended power outage, on-site diesel generators can run indefinitely. Servers are fed by multiple uninterruptible power supply (UPS) units with redundant instant failover coverage should any single UPS unit fail.

From February 2010 we now automatically host all “Personal”, “Business” and “ProSSL” accounts in our UK datacentre. The “Budget” and “Starter” level accounts will continue to alternate between UK and US datacentres.

Abuse Policy

We take abuse claims seriously

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We take the enforcement of all terms and conditions seriously, and we aim to run a clean network which operates on fair principles. We also investigate all reports of abuse.

If you encounter something you think might constitute abuse (for example, spam or inappropriate content) which you believe has come from our network or systems, please read through the information on this page carefully. It explains how you can report it.

This policy covers the following types of abuse

  • Spam, Hacking attempts, IRC activity, Phishing and Web space abuse

We work to minimise the amount of abuse that is generated on our servers. You can help us by reporting any abuse you spot which you believe has come from the UK Cheapest network.

Please report all abuse by Submitting an Abuse Ticket. Your report will automatically open a high priority ticket for the attention of our Abuse Team.

Please include as much information as you can about the type of abuse you’ve encountered. Please also provide log files (if applicable), URLs for site abuse and email headers for spamming. Once we’ve received your report, we’ll investigate the issue thoroughly, contact any relevant customers and resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

Reporting port scanning, attempted hacking and firewall activity

If your report is based on information from a firewall, please ensure that you send the relevant unedited firewall log (or excerpt). Please ensure that the log includes the time, date and time zone. If you see any other misuse on your own servers originating from a UKC IP address, please include in your report the website URL affected and the segments of your web log containing the abuse activity.

Contact Us

Need to Contact Us? We are accessible

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We pride ourselves on our efficient handling of communications with both existing and prospective clients.

Over the last 10 years we have developed a fast efficient method for handling all enquiries passing through our company.

All enquiries logged generate unique tickets that are tracked internally to help ensure a comprehensive paper trail of communications is kept so that all of our consultants are aware of the history of a particular enquiry or problem.

The eSupport Helpdesk is a secure, authenticated gateway for two way communication with our staff for all aspects of your account. Not just a support tracking system to submit your technical problems for advice and resolution.

Online Support Resources – 99% of answers are waiting in here

Before contacting support, we expect users to have browsed for a solution to their problem. The majority of questions can be answered through our help pages, live tutorials or knowledgbase. Try searching the knowledgebase.

Contact Us Electronically – Submit a ticket to a department

If you are unable to locate an answer to your enquiry or problem then you need to contact our Support Teams for assistance. Our Live Support is active 24 hours per day 7 days per week including bank holidays.

Customer Feedback – We have a clear complaints procedure

We strive to provide excellent levels of service and value for money to our customers. However, if any customer wishes to praise or complain about any aspect of UK Cheapest services, please contact our Helpdesk where your enquiry will receive priority. Review our complaints procedure.

UKC undertake to acknowledge any complaint promptly, and to confidentially, effectively and fairly deal with any issues raised. We endeavour to respond to any communications within one working day of receipt.

Report Network Abuse – We are tough on abuse

We take the enforcement of all terms and conditions seriously, and we aim to run a clean network which operates on fair principles. We also investigate all reports of abuse. Submit an Abuse Ticket for immediate attention.

Core Business Hours – When all team members are present

Our core customer service and Helpdesk hours of business are 0700 to 1800 weekdays. Our servers are monitored 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Out of hours outages should be reported to the helpdesk. Your helpdesk tickets may be responded to at any time. Support is not limited to our core opening hours.

Contact us By Email – Escalate your enquiry using email

For the fastest response, simply contact us via the Helpdesk eSupport system. The highest priority is given to the ticketing system. Email is not a fast method to use, not only might your email be incorrectly removed as spam, if it does get through, it will be mixed amongst the many spam emails that are received daily.

  • If you have not submitted a ticket your email will not be received.
  • When contacting us by email please include your ticket reference number
  • If you do not include your ticket number in your subject header your email will not be received!

Contact us By Post – Snail mail is still a last resort option

If your enquiry is not urgent at all, you can still contact us using pre-historic means. Send us a letter, smoke signals no longer accepted. We strongly suggest that this is a last resort due to time and effort required on all parts. Do not send cheques or paper payments to this address – or any other address.

  • UKC LABS LTD
  • 86-90 Paul Street
  • London
  • EC2A 4NE
  • Company No: 15229367