The.tk zone is the national domain of the Tokelau Islands, which, in order to increase the prestige and recognition of this territory, was made free for registration. It is not the only one of its kind - for "thank you" you can also register domains in the.gf,.ga,.gq,.ml zones.
Paid registration
Not every address here can be obtained for free. If the name consists of four or less characters, you will have to pay for it. There are also long addresses, which are also paid - according to the information on the registrar's website, these are the so-called special domains, whose commercial value is higher (therefore, their cost may exceed the price of "regular" paid addresses).
.tk domain can be registered on a paid basis for a period of 2 to 5 years. It provides several major benefits:
- legal domain ownership and rights to it;
- the ability to use your own DNS;
- is owned and renewable up to 9 years;
- no limit on the number of visitors;
- displaying WHOIS.
The paid domain remains in the owner's possession, regardless of whether the site is connected to itor not. 60 days before the registration deadline, the company sends a reminder and gives you the opportunity to renew your domain ownership for a longer period of 3 to 9 years.
Free way
You can get a free.tk domain if the name is longer than four characters and is not yet taken by anyone. However, this does not make the recipient of such an address its owner. The company remains the owner.
However, the benefits are clear:
- free;
- can be registered for any period from 3 months to a year;
- you can use a shortened address when connecting TiKilinks (it also allows you to connect the site with other Dot TK domains and, as the company promises, increase traffic due to this);
- you can renew your registration for a period of 3 months to a year, also free of charge (the company will send a warning 15 days before the deadline).
At the same time, there are serious restrictions:
- .tk domain cannot be registered "for the future" if it is free. There must be a website, personal page, web profile, blog or portfolio. After a while, the company's specialists will check this and, if there is nothing at the specified address, the registration will be canceled and the domain will be released.
- At least 25 visitors must visit the site within three months. Otherwise, the domain will be taken away, and it will become available to everyone again.
- WHOIS for a free address is not shown.
- According to feedback from some webmasters, a company may withdraw a free name without clearly defined reasons.
- Search enginesare wary of this domain zone and can (this is not proven, but likely) pessimize such resources, even if they contain completely unique content.
Who should buy a Tokelau address
A free.tk domain can be used by those who want to try their hand at web mastering, but are not ready to invest in it. It is also a good choice for various experiments (although the result may be affected by the special attitude of search engines to this domain zone). Many also use this name as a temporary name before the full launch of a new project.
Paid names in the.tk zone are worth buying for those who provide freight services (.tk - "truck"), or those whose business is connected with the Tokelau islands.
How to register a.tk domain for free
You can get a.tk domain from the registrar www.dot.tk. By typing this address, the person will be automatically redirected to the main page with a large field for entering the desired address. The site name is entered without an extension, that is, if in the end you need to have dzedze.tk, you only need to enter dzedze in the field and click "Go".
Depending on whether the desired address is available and free, the second step occurs. If everything is in order, a captcha page will appear. Here you can choose one of three options regarding the received domain: redirect and its landing page, choice of DNS input or choice of hosting offered by the service.
After entering the captcha, the option will become availableregistration, as well as refusal of it (the domain is delegated to the customer, regardless of whether this person has registered or not). It is highly desirable, however, to register - only in this case the new owner will be able to conduct transactions with the domain address and extend the registration time.
When you select the “Sign In” option and correctly entered captcha, a window will open where the system will offer you to sign in from an account of one of the popular networks to choose from.
In the window that appears, it is necessary to confirm dot.tk's right to access information on the web page. After that, the procedure will end - the.tk domain will finally acquire a new owner.
A few words about the registrar
The Dot TK Recorder is a joint project between the Government of the Tokelau Islands, private company BV Dot TK and Teletok. BV Dot TK is a company appointed by the Government of the Islands as the exclusive object of registration, it is engaged in commercial activities as Dot TK Registry, which, in turn, is based on private capital and has its servers in all corners of the world. Registering a.tk domain on a paid and free basis allows you to support the economy of Tokelau and raise the prestige and recognition of the country among the inhabitants of the planet.
