It’s always great to have your own domain name for your website and email – it looks more professional and it’s an essential part of your brand identity!
The domain name is the bit that goes after www. on your website address or after the @ symbol in an email.
Here are a few things to consider when choosing your ideal domain name:
Short
– make sure your domain name is as short as you can make it whilst still making sense. The shorter your domain name the easier it is for your visitors to remember to tell others about.
Easy to spell and type
– make sure your domain name is easy to spell and type. Try to find a domain name that only has one possible spelling. Most people cannot spell! so make it easy for your website visitors to remember by choosing a domain name without a confusing spelling.
Make sure the name represents your business
– either your business name or what you do. It doesn’t have to be your business name but being recognisable is important, and it makes it easier to remember. likewise it doesn’t have to be what you do but if it gives an indication then it will help when people are searching the internet for a particular type of business, product or service.
Try to avoid hyphens if possible
– as people don’t always know what it is or where it is on the keyboard or might even call it “dash” or even worse “slash” (which would be incorrect). Hyphens and numbers make it harder to give your domain name to others verbally and falls down on not being easy to remember or type. Also be aware, when you put words together they don’t accidentally spell something else.
Don’t use Acronyms or Initials
– unless you are an internationally famous brand like the BBC try not to use initials.
Domain Name Rules
Domain Names have a variety of basic rules, in general domains must:
– Use only letters, numbers, or hyphens and cannot begin or end with a hyphen.
– .com, .net, .org and .info domain names cannot exceed 67 characters total.
– .info and .biz must have at least 3 characters not including .info or .biz.
– Other domain names cannot exceed 22 characters, not including the extension.
– Domain names are not case sensitive.
– Domain names cannot include spaces.
– 2 letter domains are not permitted.
What if you cannot get the domain name of your choice?
Don’t worry too much if the .co.uk or .com domain name you had in mind has already been taken, these days there are so many other domain extensions available – including .co and .uk – that using a little imagination you will be able to find a domain that will perfectly represent your brand,
– and be inventive, the idea is that your domain name is easy to remember and represents you!
