Reserve your .au Direct domain now!

 

  • Priority access as an existing domain holder ends 19 September 2022. 
  • Application fee of $35 includes 1 year registration. (if successful) 
  • Just email us to confirm and we can grab your eligible .au Direct domains for you.

Whats All This About?

Australia has introduced a new shorter domain, .au direct. eg. artful.au instead of artful.com.au.  Existing .com.au and .net.au domain owners get first priority to register their domain in the new .au direct format. After the 19th of September all domains are open to the public (and resellers!) to register any available .au direct domain.

 

Wait I have questions?

Do I lose my old .com.au domain? 

Absolutely not! Your existing domains will still work fine for web and email.  The .au Direct domains are a new additional option. If you don't want your-name.au you don't need to do anything.  However please keep in mind that after 19.09.22 your domain name in the .au direct version will become available for anyone else to register!
 

Am I guaranteed to get my-name.au?

Um mostly...  Most Artful clients will already have both the .com.au AND .net.au versions of their domains and so get instant access to the equivalent .au direct domain. Your current domains and the .au direct have to be an exact match to successfully register them.
 

So what if I DON'T have both .net.au AND .com.au versions?

Ok this can potentially be a bit crappy.  If two businesses apply for the same .au Direct domain before 19 Sept both businesses are eligible to register the .au direct version of the domain!  eg. one business has domain-name.COM.au and the other has domain-name.NET.au. If this happens the $35 application fee is not refundable and both businesses just remain in the queue until one gives up and stops paying $35 a year! (Yes Artful agrees that this is a terrible rule by AuDA, but it is the rule!)
 

Should I get my .au Direct?

Artful strongly recommends registering all of your eligible .au Direct domains NOW, in the priority access window. The .au direct domains have been very popular already and are currently reasonably priced.  From the indications so far we think .au will become a business standard like .com.au.

If you are interested in applying for your .au direct domain, send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. listing all of the domain names you wish to apply for and we will start the process for you.  Or if you have any other questions just ask us!

 

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Why Joomla?

When we meet with clients for the first time and mention that we develop our sites using Joomla, most ask us; What is Joomla?
Joomla has always been an open source content management product which means there are thousands of free templates and extensions available which allow you to customise your website design easily and often without the need to hard code. There is also a fantastic community of developers and users out there (even right here in Melbourne!) always ready and willing to provide support and answer any questions or queries you may have. 

Pleease read on for further reasons why we choose Joomla.

Read more ...

Artful - Joomla in Melbourne since 05!

We're based in Donvale, east of Melbourne. The whole team are Melbourne locals (or were*) We have a team of very experienced, local Joomla web designers, developers and programmers with a minimum! 8 years Joomla experience each. We are also a hosting company that host Joomla Websites too.  Stay local and host your Joomla Website in Australia!   Call us, meet us and get help with your Joomla website or development right here in Melbourne.

*Chrysti (10yrs Joomla exp) has since moved to Bendigo. So Melbourne and regional  lockdowns permitting she's regularly here in Melbourne to meet clients. Marguerite (8yrs Joomla exp) has moved from Melbourne back to Ireland. She now does a lot of our Joomla security hardening work overnight Melbourne time as well as Joomla design. But we can't get her back to Melbourne!

Please read on for more of our team's Joomla exerience and our involvment with the Melbourne Joomla scene from the very early days

Nick "I've been doing Joomla in Melbourne since before there was a Joomla!" 
Nick (our boss) and Artful were making websites in Melbourne with Mambo, Joomla's first name, from around late 04 to early 05. He remembers being really nervous when the Joomla community moved away from Mambo in Aug 05. "We'd done a few Mambo websites by then. It seemed like a great system and the change to Joomla made me very nervous."

Read More: Artful Joomla Melbourne

Email Setup Information

 If you have email hosted with Artful below is the configuration settings you will need to set it up on your devices.

Incoming mailserver:

mail.yourdomainname.xxx.xx
IMAP Port: 993  POP3 Port: 995
  • Substitute 'yourdomainname.xxx.xx' with your actual domain name.
  • Use TLS/SSL
  • Your Username is the entire email address.
  • Use the same details for incoming mailserver to configure your outgoing mailserver.
  • Remember to set authentication to ‘password’.
  • Entering the Password is NEVER optional - enter it!
  • In some cases you need to dig deeper to enter your outgoing server (SMTP) information - but you need it.
  • If this all sounds like gibberish, please pass on this information to your favourite nerd or give us a call ☺

Username/email address:

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Password:

xxxxxxxxx

Outgoing mailserver:

mail.yourdomainname.xxx.xx
SMTP: Port 465

 

You can also use webmail to access your email from anywhere with a web browser. Use the url below to access it, remembering to change the words ‘yourdomainname’ to your actual domain name.

 

https://www.yourdomainname.xxx.xx/webmail

 

As with normal email you need to use your full email address to login and current email password.

Where's the best place to hide a body?

Google search tips
Where are you ranking on your preferred search phrase in Google?

If you find yourself on page 3 or beyond you can consider your website dead!

These days no-one looks beyond page 3, but don't fret, all is not lost. Here are some simple tips to help your Google Search ranking.

Find out more...

What updates are included in my hosting?

Recently Artful have made changes to our processes to ensure your websites are kept up to date and secure. We endeavour to maintain the security of your site by updating all integral CMS (Joomla/Wordpress etc) core extensions at no extra charge to you, as part of your hosting agreement.  Core extensions are those that we have used on your site, usually for backup and security functionality, that are created and maintained by trusted third party developers.

Read more ...

Tins & String

Are you thinking that heading back to the days of communicating via 'tins and string' would be far easier than managing your mailbox?   You're not alone.
There are heaps of articles out there on how to manage your mailbox.
 
Here at Artful we have compiled a list of some of the more helpful tips, that all about creating good habits when managing your email.
 
Read more ...

SCAM ALERT: Don't let your domain name fall into the wrong hands!

We have become aware of a number of scam emails doing the rounds informing you that your domain has expired and requires payment for renewal.  Unfortunately a couple of our clients have been caught out and have made payment!
How to avoid being scammed

Read more ...

Websites for the Visually impaired

There has recently been an influx of spam emails in Australia from an amywils.1976@gmail suggesting that she is having problems navigating your website because she is visually impaired and your website is not compatible with screen readers.
 
If you receive this email, please cheerfully ignore and delete as it is actually just SPAM.
  
Joomla, Wordpress and Opencart (the main CMS's we use to build your websites) have been created with screen readers and visual impairment in mind. When we build your website we also take steps to ensure your website is usable for the visually impaired.
 
Read more ...

Moving to Joomla 3 is critical

Joomla 2.5 is end of life and has been for some time now!

At the end of 2014, Joomla Version 2.5.28 (the final 2.5 version) became "end of support" meaning that:

  • No new versions or security updates
  • New or updated extensions and plugins for your website won't work under Joomla 2.5
  • No vendor tech support for any issues with Joomla 2.5 sites or plugins

That together with the forced PHP Upgrade of our server recently it is imperative that all Joomla 2.5 websites are updated or replaced. 

At present we cannot update the PHP version of your Joomla 2.5 site which places your site in peril!  We are keeping your site on the air by manually adding an obselete PHP version to it but one day soon the server will simply drop it! This is out of our hands and it is possible that we will not receive any warning.

Your site will be down and there will be no quick fix!  

Read more ...

Will Cpanel's Dec 2018 PHP switch off break my Joomla website?

Short answer

Cpanel (leading webhosting software) and PHP (the "operating system" for your website) will drop support for older PHP versions from Dec 2018. Current versions of Joomla, Wordpress and Opencart will be fine. Older versions may have isssues or just stop working all together. This is because older versions of Joomla, Wordpress and OpenCart were only written and tested to work on past PHP versions.

Now is a great time to talk to Artful about upgrading your site software to the latest version. We can also help you run a custom older PHP version to keep your site on the air. This is a short term "bandaid fix". Adding and switching to an older custom PHP version is not expensive but has issues for your website's security, speed and reliability.

Read more ...

More Articles ...

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