Is DS4A an approved GOV.UK Registrar?
Yes. DS4A is an approved registrar for the provision of GOV.UK domain names. Whilst we will assist with, and submit your registration approval, the acceptance of any domain is at the sole discretion of the GOV.UK 'Naming and Approvals Committee' (NAC).
Are there any special rules or requirements for GOV.UK domain names
Yes. As you would expect for such a highly trusted domain name there are a strict set of policy rules and requirements for the naming and use of GOV.UK domain names. Only specified public authorities are able to use GOV.UK domains. Various checks and documentation requirements are in place to ensure compliance.
For comprehensive information regarding the registration and use of GOV.UK domains please visit the following resources on the GOV.UK website:
Public Authorities: Naming and registering government websites
Digital Service Standard
How long will it take to register our GOV.UK domain name?
Domain registration of your GOV.UK domain name typically takes between 5-20 days. Whilst we will assist with completing and submitting your registration for approval, the acceptance of any domain is at the sole discretion of the GOV.UK 'Naming and Approvals Committee' (NAC).
Can we upgrade our plan if we need to?
You can either upgrade your Public Authority hosting plan to the next plan tier at any time. Alternatively you can add those additional resources you require. This could be additional webspace, bandwidth or email accounts for example. As your web presence grows, your Public Authority hosting plan will grow with you. You can upgrade to the next plan or add resources easily and quickly via your client account area.
Can we add more webspace, emails etc, without upgrading to the next plan?
Certainly! We provide resource add-ons for web space, email accounts and bandwidth. You can simply provision additional resources without upgrading to the next plan tier. However at some point the cost benefits of upgrading your plan to the next tier will be more financially prudent. You can upgrade to the next plan or add resources easily and quickly via your client account area.
Can we pay for our hosting plan monthly or annually?
All of our Public Authority hosting plans allow you to chose the most convenient payment frequency for you, whether that be monthly or annually.
How do we get help if our Public Authority plan doesn't appear to be working correctly?
Should you need support because something doesn't appear to be working, we will ensure it's not because of a problem with your hosting plan. This level of support is provided free with your plan, as you would expect.
What if we need help with our website, an integration or customisation?
If you need help to customise CMS templates, or to have an entire website designed for you we can do this. Maybe you need help to set-up and customise an app you've installed? We can do all of that for you at our standard support rates.
What about backups of our website and emails?
Your Public Authority hosting plan enables you to take manual backups of your website and emails. These can be stored in your webspace or you can download them to your local computer. Many of the apps that you can install via the included Softaculous Apps Installer allow scheduled backups to be run and stored in your web-space. If you need a more professional and automated backup solution, you can use our BackupPlus service, this makes automatic daily, weekly or monthly backups of your entire web-space, emails and databases and stores them securely away from your web-space for complete peace of mind.