Choosing The Right Domain Name
You’ve thought about your business and you’re ready to have a website for it. What do you do next? How do you go about choosing a website address or a domain name, as us techies call it? What considerations should you make, if any?
Choosing a website address or domain will take some research, some luck and some thought. And don’t worry! There are plenty of great website addresses still available. Below are some of the points to reflect upon during your search:
How many letters?You’ve got up to 67 characters you can choose in a website address, but there is no need to use them all. Frankly, we suggest you don’t. Other than keeping you website address short, there is only one major debate. Do you go with your brand name or with a snappy phrase? The downside of a phrase is that it would not be memorable. And besides most of the best “phrases”, like cars.com or jobs.com have been taken. Your best bet, if you do get a “phrase domain” you also forward it to your full business domain.
Regardless which you choose, we strongly suggest you avoid hyphenations or hard to spell (technical) words. Remember, you might know it’s www.your-company-name.com, but will your customer recall where the hyphens go? We also suggest you keep your domain name to no more than 3 words.
What about RGWARN.com? Or should you use acronyms? Unless you are known by your acronym in the business world like CNN, it’s best to avoid them. Yes the address is short, but will anyone remember which letter goes where?
What “Top Level Domain” (TLD) should I use? Quick, tell me the website address for Bestbuy or Radioshack! Right away youll type bestbuy.com or radioshack.com. The “.com” part of the address is what’s called a top level domain or a TLD. There are many different ones available, from .co.uk to .net to .org among others. Regardless of what anyone tells you, .com is considered the standard TLD. Sure you can get the .biz or .net TLD but chances are whoever has the .com of your domain name will be getting most of your visitors. If you absolutely have that perfect name and it’s only available in a .net TLD just make sure when you advertise you bunsiness make sure it’s clear that you’re not at .com. Also unless you’re a non-profit organisation we suggest you avoid the .org as a domain.
One quick note as well. Don’t let your domain registrar “scare” you into buying other TLD’s for your web address. It will be a never-ending battle and it’s really not necessary. If you’ve got your .com, be happy and go along you merry way.
Finally Have A List of Possible Website Addresses? When you finally have a potential website address or a name you like, get ready for some funny, keep an open mind and some flexibility. Head over to a registrar like godaddy.com, whois.com, networksolutions.com or domainsearch.com. Search to see if your chosen website address is available. If it’s not, most registrars offer a “suggest”button. Most of all remember not to get desperate or panic. Make sure to choose the best name possible. Think of choosing your website address the same way you chose the location of your business: It’s possible to move once you settle in, but avoid the hassle and do it right the first time.
When you finally find the website address or domain name that works, it’s time to “lock it up”. Doing this will ensure no one else gets your chosen domain name. The best bet is to “lock up” the domain with the registrar you will choose a hosting plan with. Ahhh, so which host to go with? That’s a whole ‘nother story we’ll be covering soon.
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thanks for the informative post..
Great article. It really gave an in depth coverage on how to pick a good domain name. Which I think is one of the most important aspects of the website even more than the design. Highly recommended article for beginners. Cheers
Great article. Yes I agree, picking the correct domain name is key fopr any web site. Too long or too short is not the way to go. And it should be meaningful as well.