Author: Lluis Ouro

Control your domain: protect your .barcelona domain

Posted on by Lluis Ouro

One of the main reasons for people losing control of their domain is not renewing it in time. There’s a period of grace when it can still be renewed, but if this elapses the domain may become available again and could be acquired by somebody else.

Follow these steps to avoid this happening:

1.       Use an accessible contact address. When you register a domain, be sure to use a contact address which is easy for you to access.  

2.       Always keep the domain information up to date. A domain can be suspended if the data are not up to date and the registration company is unable to contact the domain owner.

3.       Check your mail frequently. Bear in mind that the registration company will send you reminders when the domain is soon to expire.

4.       Don’t forget the renewal dates. Make a note of the time period for the domain so that renewals won’t get overlooked and set some reminders in advance.

5.       Contract the domain for longer if you know you’re going to need it. Remember you can renew it for up to ten years to avoid having to worry about it.  

6.       Be sure you can contact your registration company. Check that you can communicate easily, whether by email or by phone.

If you don’t renew in time, the first step is to inform the registration company that you contracted. They will be in the best position to advise you.

What do you need to do if your domain has expired?

·         When your domain expires, you have around 45 days to renew it (although each registration company has their time frames and in some cases they may charge you extra to renew it after it has expired). If you don’t renew it, anyone else can register it, even you could acquire it again!

·         If your domain is contracted by somebody else, contact us at suport@domini.barcelona and explain your case to us. We will convey your request to the current holder and, if you are lucky, they will get in touch with you to negotiate the purchase of the domain.

·         Never negotiate the domain if it includes fraudulent information, if the website is being used improperly or if there is an attempt being made to gain from it. If you find yourself in one of these situations, contact us. If necessary, we will take legal action.

Remember to always keep your .barcelona domain up to date!

Current developments in the world of domains: key dates

Posted on by Lluis Ouro

Key dates are approaching in the world of domains and we have them in our agenda. Here are all the details.

ICANN82. Next stop: Seattle!

The .barcelona domain will be represented at the upcoming ICANN82, to be held in Seattle from 8 to 13 March. This is one of the biggest meetings of the year in the domain sector.

This edition will be addressing a theme that affects us all: online criminal activity and cybersecurity. Urgent aspects to be tackled from the perspective of ICANN, public administrations and the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO).

We’ll keep you informed of the resolutions from the meeting.

Discover CENTR

CENTR stands for the Council of European National Top-Level Domain Registries. This association brings together domain registries for top-level country codes (ccTLDs, such as es., fr. and pt.).

CENTR gathers the best standards and practices from its members, making it a reference spaces for queries on ccTLDs, and fosters better service for users.

CENTR also offers a space for addressing matters that affect various domains and acts as a communication channel between government bodies and other internet institutions.

Upcoming meetings

CENTR is organising a meeting for its workgroups on 27 February. This online session will be a preliminary step to lay the foundations for the face-to-face meeting, the Jamboree in Lyon, from 21 to 23 May. At the Jamboree, experts and leaders in the sector will be fostering an exchange of knowledge, addressing shared challenges and identifying opportunities for collaboration.

For CENTR members this annual meeting is a great opportunity to build professional networks within the European industry of ccTLDs.

Barcelona City Council leaves X

Posted on by Lluis Ouro

Barcelona City Council has decided to close all its accounts on this social media network, except for the profile @bcn_ajuntament, which will only be used to give information on emergencies, weather alerts and disruptions to mobility.

The decision corresponds to the City Council’s commitment to reliable communication, in the face of the disinformation generated by the X platform. The aim of the move is to guarantee that members of the public receive reliable information in line with the values of digital democracy.

Despite closing its X accounts, the City Council will continue to provide information through its other official channels, such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn, as well as the municipal website. This will allow the institution to continue its broad coverage of verified and accessible information for citizens.

The profile @puntBarcelona has also ceased to be present on X, but we remain active on Instagram and Facebook. You can also sign up for the digital newsletter to get updated official information directly by email.

New aspects to mobility at mobilitat.barcelona

Posted on by Lluis Ouro

February got under way with some changes to mobility in the city. The new by-law on circulation in the city, which you can find on the website mobilitat.barcelona, aims to preserve pavements as pedestrian spaces by prohibiting bikes and personal mobility vehicles (PMV) from circulating on them, except for children with bicycles and those accompanying them.

It’s worth noting that PMVs will now be classed as unipersonal vehicles, meaning they can only carry one person, and should have essential safety elements: helmets are obligatory, and the vehicle must have front and back lights. The current legislation prohibits the use of PMVs by those under 16 and establishes a speed limit of 25 km/h.

The new text prohibits bikes and PMVs from circulating on pavements, which will be exclusively for pedestrians. As an exception, adults carrying children with authorised systems (trailers or child-seats) or accompanying children up to 12 years of age on bicycles will be able to circulate on pavements, as will those under 14 and adults transporting children where there is no bike lane.

Either way, the obligation remains for cyclists and PMV riders to get off their vehicle in crowded spaces shared with pedestrians.

Besides the specific prohibition on parking motorcycles on pavements near schools and hospitals, the by-law on circulation, pedestrians and vehicles also means fines for parking in front of reserved pedestrian entrances, in bike lanes or in front of waste containers. The recommendation continues to be to park these vehicles on road surfaces.

The new by-law also introduces fines of up to 500 euros to guarantee compliance with the measures established. Besides the website mobilitat.barcelona, the new by-law can be found in Barcelona City Council’s Open Repository on Knowledge.

Una persona circula en patinet

Twenty years of the consellciutat.barcelona

Posted on by Lluis Ouro

The Consell de Ciutat (City Assembly), Barcelona’s most important advisory and participatory body, has just turned twenty. During this time the assembly has contributed to the evolution of city governance and become a space which represents society, today’s heir of the Consell de Cent, which lasted five centuries.

The assembly has space for trade unions, business associations, community organisations, institutions representing the city and individual citizens, over a hundred members with the capacity to draft rulings and recommendations for improving municipal policies.

The assembly has three organisational levels: the Plenary, which initially proposes topics, the Permanent Commission, and working groups devoted to listening and consulting experts.

To find out more and discover the history of the assembly go to conselldeciutat.barcelona.

Housing in Barcelona is habitatge.barcelona

Posted on by Lluis Ouro

Access to housing is one of the main challenges for the city in the coming years. Barcelona has launched a new strategy to respond to the issue during this term of office, the Pla Viure.

The plan, which users can follow on the website habitatge.barcelona, not only defines the goals but also the actions and services in this area for the period 2025-2032, notable aspects being:

  • Making the right to housing universal: enlarging the stock of affordable social housing.​
  • Renovating and improving housing: with sustainability, accessibility and comfort.​
  • Addressing vulnerability: the demographic challenge and life stages.​

The future Barcelona Housing Plan 2025-2032 is now under way with a participatory process open to everybody. In this first stage, an assessment will be made of the measures implemented in recent years in the city, with discussions on new proposals for the next eight years. The participatory sessions will run until the summer of 2025.If you want to stay up to date, don’t forget to check the website habitatge.barcelona.

Façana de l’edifici d’habitatges de lloguer social al carrer de Veneçuela, 96-106

Success for .barcelona training at Barcelona Activa

Posted on by Lluis Ouro

The team from .barcelona organised an information session on 19 November aimed at  educators, consultants and professionals from the technical team at Barcelona Activa, introducing all the advantages of registering a .barcelona domain and providing them with the tools to act as prescribers for companies and advisory entrepreneurs from Barcelona Activa’s various programmes.

What is a .barcelona domain?

A .barcelona domain is much more than just a website address. It is a seal of identity which links your project with the city. It is a way of showing the world you are part of the Barcelona community and that you share the values of innovation, creativity and international openness that characterise the city.

Why choose .barcelona?

·       Visibility: a .barcelona domain allows you to stand out in searches linked with Barcelona.

·       Identity: it transmits a strong connection with the city and its inhabitants.

·       Credibility: it gives a professional and distinctive touch to your online presence.

·       Opportunities: it opens up possibilities of new collaboration and projects within the Barcelona ecosystem.

Who is the .barcelona domain aimed at?

The .barcelona domain is open to anybody wishing to link their project with the city: companies, organisations, the self-employed, non-profit entities, events, citizen initiatives and more. Whether you have a local business or want to break into a market in Barcelona, the .barcelona domain is an excellent option.

Unique opportunity for entrepreneurs

As part of its support plan for entrepreneurs, Barcelona Activa is offering free .barcelona domains during the first year of all projects establishing a link with the city. This way, entrepreneurs can launch their businesses with their own professional domain from the first moment.

How to register a .barcelona domain?

1.       Visit domini.barcelona: go to the website and check the availability of the domain you would like.

2.       Choose a registration company: select the registration company that suits your needs best.

3.       Complete the register: fill in the form with your details and complete the purchase.

With this training, Barcelona Activa gives entrepreneurs the tools they need to build a solid digital identity in the city with a .barcelona domain, which backs their work and visibility.

.barcelona at ICANN81: the meeting for international internet leaders

Posted on by Lluis Ouro

The 81st annual ICANN meeting was held in Istanbul from 9 to 14 November. ICANN is the organisation responsible at an international level for coordinating various technical aspects of the internet, to guarantee that it works in a safe, stable and accessible way for everybody. The team from .barcelona took part in the  meeting and came back to the city with a wealth of new information and knowledge.

The future of the internet, increasingly diverse and inclusive

One of the star topics at the meeting was the importance of international domain names (IDN). This means that we will increasingly see domains with characters from other alphabets, such as the Cyrillic or Arabic alphabets, plus domains that contain characters unique to the Catalan language, such as those using .barcelona, favouring the use of our language. This is great news for cultural and linguistic diversity on the internet!

The ICANN highlighted the importance of promoting universal acceptance, where all of us as users get accustomed to using these domains in our daily life. This will make the internet even more open and accessible for everybody.

New opportunities and challenges for .barcelona

The draft for the ICANN strategic plan for 2030, to be presented in 2026, was another topic at the meeting. There was also extensive discussion about the new round of geographical Top-Level Domains (gTLD) being opened up in 2026. This new stage represents a great opportunity for new stakeholders, at the same time posing challenges in terms of management and competitiveness for new domains and existing domains alike.

As a member of the GeoTLD group, the .barcelona team are closely involved with the implementation of the directive on the resilience of essential entities (NIS2). This European directive establishes new cybersecurity requisites for essential services, such as domain registers. Our team has already started working to adapt to the new regulation and ensure that .barcelona is a domain offering maximum security and reliability for all our users.

Strengthening ties with the .barcelona community

During the annual meeting, we took the opportunity to meet with main registration companies for the domain and to strengthen our collaboration. These meetings are fundamental for ensuring the domain works well and offering a quality service to users.

What does all this mean?

These new developments allow us to look to the future with optimism. The .barcelona domain is growing and constantly evolving to adapt to the new trends of the internet. We want .barcelona to be your trusted domain, a space where you can express your digital identity and connect with the city’s community.

ICANN81 was a unique opportunity for the .barcelona domain to be at the forefront of debate on the future of the internet and be involved in defining the regulations that govern it. The meeting helped us collaborate with other stakeholders in the sector and put .barcelona on the map as a leader in managing geographical city domains.

Identify yourself with a .barcelona domain for just 5 euros

Posted on by Lluis Ouro

Held on 26 September, the European Day of Languages is a special occasion highlighting the continent’s linguistic wealth and the great cultural heritage it represents in Europe.

To mark the occasion, the .barcelona domain is joining the .cat and .gal domains for a campaign to nurture and promote geographical and cultural domains.

Your .barcelona domain for just 5 euros

You only have until 13 October to purchase your .barcelona domain for just 5 euros plus VAT.

Why choose a .barcelona domain?

·         Identity: A .barcelona domain reflects your link with the city.

·         Visibility: It increases your visibility in search engines and attracts a local and international audience with an interest in Barcelona.

·         Professionalism: A personalised domain conveys seriousness and professionalism.

·         Community: You will form part of a community of .barcelona domains and be able to proudly show that your project is different, modern, cosmopolitan and entrepreneurial.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity!Go to https://www.domini.barcelona/registra/ and register your .barcelona domain. It’s the moment to show the pride you take in the city of Barcelona.

From Barcelona to London: shared experiences

Posted on by Lluis Ouro

The team from the .barcelona domain attended the annual meeting by the GeoTLD Group, held in London on 5 and 6 September and bringing together geographical domains (GeoTLD) and city domains to share the challenges and opportunities for our sector, the evolution of the market and new trends and challenges.

City domains attending this year’s meeting included .paris, .berlin, .amsterdam, .wien and .cologne.

The meeting puts Barcelona’s digital future and the new European regulations in the spotlight

The meeting provided a good chance to analyse the future perspectives of domains and explore new opportunities for collaboration. In this context, .barcelona highlighted how it is a domain which is open to citizens and committed to the promotion of Barcelona in the digital sphere and its contribution towards a more open and diverse internet.

The European security regulations (NIS2), which come into force in the next few months, provided another of the main topics for the meeting. The regulations are aimed at ensuring a more secure European digital environment, with more guarantees, regulations and certifications, meaning challenges in management and new dynamics in operating domains.

Towards a new round of domains

The meeting also offered a unique opportunity for us to get together again with those in charge of the ICANN, who were able to share the new round of domains due to be launched in 2026. Developed over the last ten years by the ICANN, the new round of domains will offer a great opportunity to request new domain extensions representing communities, other cities, brands and general names.

.london and .barcelona share experiences and learning

Another key moment was the bilateral meeting we held with London & Partners, the City of London agency tasked with managing the .london domain, the host for this year’s meeting. The session gave us an insight into the experiences the .london domain has had to go through since it was created, and to share initiatives in the field of marketing and promotion for both domains.

Working together for a more secure digital future

The presence of the .barcelona domain at the annual GeoTLDmeeting  reaffirms our commitment to keep working with other geoTLDs to build a more secure and prosperous digital future, and at the same time to allow the .barcelona domain to keep abreast of the latest trends in the sector, establish contacts with other similar organisations and work together.