How to choose a domain name

By Trey T. Deacon Last updated Feb 21, 2022

How to choose a domain name? This decision is extremely important when planning a new site while also selecting one of the best web hosting services and the best website builders to build a website with. When someone stumbles upon your website, the first thing they notice is your domain name, so it has to be both professional and memorable.

Therefore, it is important to spend time and effort to get your domain name from the start, because in addition to selecting a web host and a builder, it is the most important choice for your new one. website. You get domain email addresses too, and these professional emails immediately make your site seem like more authoritative, especially compared to email addresses from Gmail or Hotmail.

The bottom line is that you basically need a domain name that is not only easy to remember, but also easy to find, so that visitors and customers don’t forget about it when they want to come back. However, the art of choosing a domain name is not easy: we explain how you are going to make this important decision.

1. Be concise

Our best advice is to keep your domain name short. The more you ask people to remember, the more likely they are to type the wrong characters, and if they can’t get your domain name correct, they won’t find you. Usually six letters are best, but as long as your domain name is less than eight, you’re doing fine.

2. Choose the right domain extension

Web url displayed angle on screen — Make sure you choose the right extension when registering (Image credit: Shutterstock)

In the early days of the Internet, there were only limited options for extensions (the letters at the end of a URL), with the majority of websites choosing .com and some choosing .org instead.

Today things are very different. Each country in the world has a specific code and there are other options to choose from as well. The most popular are:

.info – Sites focused on providing information
.me – Personal sites, like blogs
.co – In most cases an abbreviation for business, commerce, or community
.org- Community and non-profit organizations
.biz – An alternative to .com for businesses and commercial enterprises
.net – Usually Internet infrastructure sites

In many cases, the above extensions will be combined with country codes. For example, a business in the UK can use the .co.uk domain extension. Large organizations tend to buy all of the most popular subdomains for their primary domain name and redirect them, preventing copy sites from compromising their success and making it easier for their site to locate.

The key point here is to make sure your site is easily discoverable, but if you’re having a hard time deciding, go with .com as the default option. Even after all this time, this extension still commands respect and makes your business appear more professional.

Extensions such as .com, .net, and .org are referred to as traditional top-level domain (TLD) extensions, while .co.uk, .ca, or .com.au are referred to as country code top-level domains ( ccTLD). Finally, there are newer TLDs, such as .studio or .golf, which are cheaper in most cases, and don’t lose in rankings or SEOs.

3. Check the existing domain names

The last thing you want to do is pick a name for your site and start the branding process, only to find out that the name you have chosen has already been taken by another organization. You can try GoDaddy’s Domain Name Finder. It’s an easy way to find out if the name you want has already been registered elsewhere.

It’s also worth looking for spelling mistakes in your chosen domain name and purchasing them if available. However, don’t pick misspellings from popular sites, like fcebook.com or twiter.com. Doing so could result in a legal challenge to the website you appear to be imitating.

4. Run a language check

open laptop on the desk — Be aware of language differences when searching for a domain name (Image credit: Unsplash)

It might seem strange to search for the meaning of your domain name in multiple languages, but there are plenty of examples of words that don’t mean anything important in English, but are considered strange or even offensive in other languages.

In a famous case, Ford discovered that he had made a mistake in marketing his Kuga in the Balkans. In this region, “Kuga” means black plague, the devastating plague that killed nearly 200 million people in Europe between 1347 and 1351. This is one example, but there are many others.

5. Perform a brand search

Copyright law is notoriously difficult to define. Therefore, if your domain name includes even part of a word registered by another organization, you could find yourself in a legal battle.

You should be especially careful if you use a coined word, as it is not possible to use the defense that it is a commonly used word or phrase. Visit knowem.com and run a brand search before committing to a name. You’ll find out if it’s used as a brand or domain name, or if it’s common on social media.

6. Do not use dashes or numbers

Woman typing on laptop keyboard — Dashes and numbers should be avoided in domain names (Image credit: Unsplash)

It is recommended that you avoid using dashes and underscores in your domain name, as it is relatively easy for users to confuse them. The same rule applies to numbers. If possible, we do not recommend that you include a number in your domain name. The zero is particularly problematic because it can easily be confused with the letter “o”.

7. Consider geography

If you are creating a website for a local business, it is good to have a name that emphasizes that locality. For example, a hat repair service based in Boston, MA, would do well to choose the BostonHatRepair.com domain.

The problem is, there is more than one Boston in the world. Of course, there’s Boston in Lincolnshire, UK, the original Boston. But there are 15 more in the United States and more in Jamaica, Cuba, Peru, Bolivia, Andorra, Italy, Ireland, South Africa, Uzbekistan, Colombia and Costa Rica. . This is an extreme example, but geography is an important consideration under all circumstances.

8. Make it memorable

laptop with closed cover — The more memorable the domain name, the more likely people will come back to your site. (Image credit: Unsplash)

Websites with memorable names are much more likely to be discovered. They are also easier to recommend by word of mouth, which is why it pays to use a name that is easy to pronounce.

Depending on where your web traffic is coming from, it may be worth choosing a name that is easy to pronounce in non-English speaking countries as well. It can be difficult to choose a name like this, but it’s worth it because you’ll likely receive a lot more traffic in the long run.

9. Experiment with a word generator

There are a number of word generation tools, such as TextFixer, which allow you to select certain keywords associated with your business and test them in different configurations. This is a good option if you are really stuck for inspiration, but don’t forget the other essential tips we mentioned above.