Choosing a Domain Name for
Your Website
Your domain name is one of the most important decisions you will make about your website. So what type of things should you consider when choosing the name that will represent you on the web?
- Keep It Short The easier it is for people to remember your domain name the better. Although it is possible to register a domain name with up to 63 characters it is best to keep it below 20 or 10 if possible. Register the shortest name that your customers and visitors will associate with your website.
- Dot What? There are many different extensions available and more keep coming. For businesses a .com suffix is the best choice. It is the first extension that most people try when searching for a website. Since it is one of the oldest extensions .com shows relays the message that your business has been around for a while and that your business has a well-established presence on the web.
- Avoid Trademark Names There are two really good reasons for this. First, it’s not very professional. We have all heard stories about the guy who thought ahead and bought "multi-million-dollar-company.com" and sold it to the company for enough money to retire on but remember that those companies have spent time, effort and money creating their company name just like you have and there is nothing worse than someone stealing your name or idea and using it for their own profit. And second, nowadays companies are no longer opening their check books to get their names back - they're calling their lawyers.
- Register Your Domain Name Now! Domain names are being snatched up faster than you can even imagine. You should register your domain name before it is taken unless you want to get stuck with "the-domain-name-nobody-wanted.com". You don't even need a website to register a domain name. If you are even thinking about having a website someday - register the domain now before someone else does and you lose the option of getting the name you really wanted.
- One May Not Be Enough It isn't even a bad idea to register several similar domain names. If you have "yourname.com", register "yourname.net" so no one else takes it. You can register your full company name and a shorter, easier to remember version. Some people even register common misspellings of their company’s name. You don’t need a separate web site for each domain name. You can have all the domain names point to the same website.
- Character Types Domain names can only consist of letters, numbers and dashes. Spaces and symbols are not allowed.
- Ask Around When you have decided on several available domain names ask your friends, family or clients their opinion. A domain name that seem perfect to you may not make sense to other people. Is your domain easy to say? Is it hard to spell? Do you have to explain why you chose the name? If so, you may want to rethink the domain name.
- Don't Shell Out Large Amounts Of $$$ At one point companies were charging a $70 fee to register a domain name. As more and more companies are offering domain registration services the prices have lowered dramatically. If you even think you have found the right domain name but you're not quite sure if it's the one... register it anyway before someone else does.
There are several companies that offer domain name
registration. Our clients are welcome to register their
domain names themselves. Most of our clients find it
more convenient to have us register or renew their
domain names for them.
We can register a domain name for your website for $25
for one full year.
Contact us for a
FREE Consultation. We'll go over all of your options and work with you to determine which services best suit your individual needs, goals and budget.
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