Domain Names, Domain Registration
Choosing domain names can be a very important decision. Having said that, if you already have a domain name in mind proceed on to Step 2 - Web Hosting, where you’ll find that all of the hosting companies offer domain names along with their hosting package. Some of these services even offer domain names for free when you sign-up. If you haven’t yet chosen your domain name, continue on.
If possible, your domain name should give the visitor an idea of what the site is about, let them know the name of your company, and be concise and easy to remember. This is a lot to squeeze into 67 characters (the limit on domain names) and it’s probably impossible, so you need to start making choices. If your business is an established brand, aim for domain names like companyname.com. If not, try to get descriptive. Let’s say you’re in the business of 24/7 pumbing, you might want something like midnightplumbers.com. Or perhaps you’re an established non-profit organization with a long name such as Coalition to Find Good Domain Names, then cfgdn.com is probably your best bet.
After the creative process, you’ll probably go online, type in the domain names you’ve chosen and realize someone already owns them. This is a frustrating experience, but there are many options, so don’t worry.
Top Level Extension
If the name you want it already taken with the .com extension, try looking for domain names with .net and .org extensions. Or, if your business services a specific region you might consider looking for country specific top level extensions such as .co.uk (UK), .de (Germany), .it (Italy), and so on. One word of caution though, try to avoid picking up domain name extensions like .tv, .info, and .mobi. Generally these give your visitors the impression that you’re not serious about what you do.
Hyphens
Assuming your desired domain name contains more than one word, you might consider adding hyphens between words. While it might make your domain name difficult to remember, it actually helps search engines determine your websites keywords and may give you a higher search engine rank. Considering over 75% of people find websites through search engines, this might not be such a bad idea.
Add-Ons
Where appropriate you can add a few common prefixes and suffixes to vary your domain names such as -s, the-, -online, -website, and -my. The good thing about prefixes and suffixes is that your original domain name preference stays intact.
If you don’t get lucky the first time and you need to use some of these suggestions, just keep in mind that when you market your website you should always refer to it as it’s written. Make sure people know your website has the- in front of it, or has hyphens between the words so you don’t lose customers to your competitors.
