In Part 1 we discussed a little about UK domains and about the dangers of presuming that the version of English used in the UK is the same as that used elsewhere.
Here are a few more things to think about……….
The differences explained
The most important thing to consider if you are not from the UK is that British English differs significantly from English spoken in other countries. US English is different in many ways from its British counterpart, in particular
1) different words are used to describe something – sidewalk (US) / pavement (UK)
2) same words have different meaning in US and UK English – a ‘fag’ is a cigarette in UK English and means something else in US English
3) spellings differ – colour/ color, socialise/ socialize and so on
There are also differences in usage which are based on custom and practice.
This means that there are many different ways to make errors and its difficult to provide hard and fast rules.
Popularity of .UK domains
The .co.uk ‘brand’ is well established and there is a high degree of trust in the extension.
UK surfers recognise websites developed on .co.uk domains as more lightly to meet UK specific needs i.e. plumbers or dentists. Whereas, where the market for something is global or international the specificness of the .co.uk domain may be an actual disadvantage.
It has been said before but it is worth repeating, that the resale value of .org.uk domains is very poor and although there is a small market for the best generics, they should be avoided, at least initially.
Some helpful resources
From Wikipedia:
American and British English spelling differences
List of American words not widely used in the United Kingdom
List of British words not widely used in the United States
List of words having different meanings in British and American English
UK Domain Name Forums
Domain name sales