Londoners can now choose ‘.london’ domain names

Business and individuals can now choose to end their web address with .london rather than .com or .co.uk.

Organisations, businesses and individuals can now sign up to use .london as their domain name for their web address.

Dot London was officially launched on Tuesday (April 29th) to allow firms and other web users to apply for a web address which features the name of the capital, providing an alternative to the standard options of .com, .co.uk or even .net or .org.

Anyone interested can now apply via the makeit.london website to ensure their site is associated with one of the world’s most famous cities, but trademark holders and businesses and individuals based in the capital will have priority status for the first three months. As part of the launch some of the first sites have already gone live, including TechHub, Metro Bank and classic London brand Fortnum and Mason.

Official figures have not been released indicating how many applications have been received, but it has been clear for some time that there is demand for the new domain name. Dot London says that web registrars had already received as many as 50,000 separate expressions of interest from people hoping to reserve their domain name before they were on sale.

Antony Van Couvering, chief executive of Dot London commercial partner Minds + Machines, says that businesses in the capital will be able to benefit from a stronger connection to the city’s unique identity.

“The introduction of new domains presents an enormous opportunity for businesses to overhaul their branding and become more relevant to their customers,” he says.

“A Dot London web address captures the essence of London as a powerhouse of business and innovation. It’s encouraging to see how many Londoners understand how much they can gain by associating themselves more closely with one of the world’s leading brands.”

With domain names such as .berlin and .vienna currently being rolled out and .nyc, .vegas, .tokyo and .paris all in the works, it appears that more and more firms are likely to make the most of the opportunity to associate themselves with a single location.