Choosing a Domain Name

Your Domain Should Describe Your Business

So you’ve decided what you want your website to do. That’s perfect! If you haven’t, start there. Decide what you want, and then you can move on to one of the more fun and creative steps: naming your domain.

There are 5 key rules I keep in mind when picking up a domain name for a website.

Simple is better

A more simple domain name is more likely to be remembered than a long complex domain name. You don’t want your visitors to have to type in a huge domain name. Long complicated domain names are an annoyance on the web, and are difficult to remember.

Keeping simple in mind, using a domain name that isn’t made up of words is usually harder to remember. For instant, if your domain can be made short by using something like dwskf.com, it’s not going to be remembered.

Using keywords in a domain are a good SEO practice, but don’t overdo it. Starting a website with the name djproducts.com is a lot better than djturntablistrecordsscratchmusicmixing.com. People won’t remember something that’s too long.

Stay close to your name

Our business name is Asheboro Creative. Our domain name matches our business name. This makes it easier for people to find us online, both from a memorable domain name and search engine optimization stand point.

If the domain you want isn’t available, make your domain name relative to what the site is about. Using your name for a personal site is a great idea where using your name for a video hosting site isn’t.

Spell it correctly

If you want to start a website and the domain name you want is already taken, don’t spell it wrong just to get the sound you want. For one, you may end up in a legal battle with the owner of the correctly spelled name. You can’t start a website with the name Dreamwerks and not expect the movie studio Dreamworks to have an issue with it, especially if you are in a similar business.

Also, don’t think your visitors are going to know how to spell it simply because you do. If it sounds one way, they’ll spell it that way and end up on the wrong site.

No digits, no hyphens, no needless words

I never buy a domain name with a digit or hyphen in it. Over the years, domains with digits and hyphens have become connected to scams and get rich quick websites. They are trusted less for that reason, and I’ve stayed away from them.

Also, you may think that because the name musicdownloads.com has been taken, you could simply buy themusicdownloads.com. I stay away from needless words like that as well because it generally relates to the first three rules. People won’t remember “the”, they won’t add it to the name to spell it right, and it doesn’t relate to my site name. The same can be said for the digit and hyphen. A hyphen is not likely to be remembered, so music-downloads.com is out of the question.

Stick to the big three

There are a ton of options you have when naming your domain, but I stick to the big three: .com, .net, and .org. Unless you are an organization of some kind, the first choice should always be .com. The general public associates the internet with .com, so that’s where you want to start.

Country specific names are fine if they are widely trafficked in your country. Otherwise, stick to the three mentioned above.

These are the general guidelines I follow when naming a website. The goal is to keep the domain name memorable. You don’t want people forgetting your domain name. You always want it to stay related to your site and your business. Asheboro Dental Care has a great domain name. It matches their business name and clearly says what they do.

Now that you have a purpose for your website, clearly showing what you want it to do, what you want your visitors to be able to do, and a great domain name to match it, you’re able to move on to the next steps of starting your website.