Key Takeaways
Global web hosting and managed WordPress provider DreamHost has officially joined Nominet, one of the largest domain registries in the world that oversees the .uk domains, including .co.uk, .org.uk, .wales, and .cymru.
“Access to the web should feel local, no matter where you are in the world,” said Christopher Ghazarian, DreamHost Chief Operating Officer. “Becoming a Nominet member brings us closer to that vision. This is DreamHost’s way of helping people and businesses across the UK and beyond build their corner of the internet with confidence.”
According to Nominet, members can help “shape .uk policy by contributing to the .UK Registry Advisory Council (UKRAC)” and participate in discussions impacting how the domain ecosystem operates.
Nominet has already done a lot for the namespace, from cybersecurity to domain registrations. One major move is when Nominet made the decision to allow for direct .uk registrations. For years, U.K. domains were second-level (.co.uk, .org.uk). Now, .uk is permitted.
Not only is the TLD much clearer, but it’s a prime example of the kinds of policies Nominet members can take part in.
A Year of European Expansion?
Slow but steady wins the race — at least, according to DreamHost it does.
DreamHost has been leaning heavily into governance and data security as it moves beyond the U.S. While the company is headquartered stateside, it’s always operated as a global host, including customers spread across the European Union and UK.
In February, DreamHost announced a new overseas data center in Amsterdam. It’s the first facility they’ve built outside of the United States, officially expanding beyond their locations in Virginia and Oregon.
“Our new Amsterdam data center is a milestone in DreamHost’s ongoing mission to deliver premium hosting experiences wherever our customers do business,” said Patrick Lane, DreamHost’s SVP of Infrastructure. “With Amsterdam now fully operational, customers worldwide can expect improved performance and greater control over their data.”
If the past year has made anything clear to providers, it’s that compliance and governance are getting harder to manage — especially in Europe where data sovereignty has been a hot-button topic. So DreamHost’s Amsterdam data center gives its European customers more security and peace of mind knowing where their data is stored.
It’s also unsurprising how vocal DreamHost has been about data ownership. In a Dec. 10 post on X, the company targeted Big Tech platforms:
Dear Google, Microsoft, Adobe...
It's not us — it's *definitely* you.
We're leaving. And we're taking our data with us.
50+ tools that actually own your stuff: https://t.co/KrdjO2xxfG #OpenSource #DataPrivacy #BigTech pic.twitter.com/ob8MQ7hVRE
— DreamHost (@DreamHost) December 10, 2025
Open-source software gives hosting providers more direct control over their platforms, from adapting software to regional requirements to inspecting how data is handled.
DreamHost’s recent moves are obviously expansion- and security-driven, but the final stop is still unknown. Whether DreamHost will continue expanding or begin selling .uk TLDs, it looks like it’s just the beginning of a new era for the host.
