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After announcing their plans to push for a shorter .uk second level domain back in October 2012, UK domain registry Nominet has been forced to rework the idea after it failed to garner much support.

Back in October, UK domain registrar Nominet proposed the introduction of shorter .uk domain names, opening a three month consultation period to see how the community would respond.

Unfortunately for Nominet, they weren’t able to garner the support they planned, and the registrar has admitted they couldn’t win over the masses. Those responding during the consultation period objected to the plan, as many felt they would face a difficult battle to obtain the .uk version of domains they already owned in the .co.uk space.

One respondent noted:

“I believe that over time the .uk domain would rightly become the default domain for the UK and it would certainly be bad for my business if I were unable to secure the .uk registration for our current .co.uk domain.”

Nominet stated:
“Many respondents felt that the release mechanism did not give enough weighting to existing registrants, and could lead to confusion if they could not obtain the corresponding domain.”

Respondents were also displeased with the price of the proposed SLDs, with the .uk domains slated at £20 per year. The current fee for.co.uk domains are a much cheaper £5 for a two year registration.Nominet is going to have to come up with a strategy that will balance the needs of those with existing .co.uk domainsagainst the introduction of the new, shorter .uk domains if they are to see a more positive response in the future.