Choosing the right domain name for your business

A good website is so important to the success of a business that many people now consider domain names when branding their company. However, for businesses that are thinking about moving online for the first time, or established companies undergoing a rebrand, then choosing a domain name is an important step.

What is a domain name?

A domain name is the name of a website, like Google, orTesco. It can be made up of letters or numbers, or a combination of both. Picking a domain name is an important step in website design.

A domain name is what someone will need to type in order to access your website and it will have an extension at the end like .com or.co.uk. Every domain name is unique and needs to be registered before it can be used. That’s because computers actually use a numerical system in place of this domain name. We use the domain name instead of having to type in or remember long chains of numbers.

What makes for a good domain name?

The best domain names are short, memorable, easy to type, relate to your business or brand and are distinct from your competitors.

You’ll use it often - on your business cards, social media, flyers, company vehicles etc. so it’s really important that it’s simple to read and remember.

Choosing a domain name

The simplest solution to choosing a domain name is to use your company name, particularly if you already have an established brand.

You may also want to include a keyword. This is a term associated with your business that people will search for and will make your website more identifiable. Moz has compiled a good list of how to choose a domain name , including such a simple suggestion as keeping it short.

What are good keywords to include in a domain name?

Including a one word location or business description could make your business much easier to find. Say you ran a web design agency in Exeter under your surname. Your name alone as a website is likely to be taken, but it also wouldn’t tell anyone what your business was or where you were based. In contrast adding ‘website design’ or ‘Exeter’ to your surname would make your domain name more specific.

How do I check if the name I want is available?

You can check the main variations of your planned domain name simply by typing them in to a web browser. But for a full list of options and details about pricing, use a domain name registration service like www.123-reg.co.uk to check availability.

What to do if your business name isn’t available

If you’ve tried the most common combinations of your business name and still can’t find something suitable then you may have to be more creative. Not every domain name is simply a copy of the business name and you can tell your customers more about your business by branching out. For instance the DIY and hardware chain B &Q have the domain name www.diy.com .

If you’re still stuck then try a domain name generator like www.panabee.com , which will come up with suggestions based on your business or product keywords.

Common mistakes to avoid

There are a few mistakes that people often make when choosing a domain name:

• Avoid lengthy domain names; they’re easy to misspell and not very memorable. Where possible keep to one or two words (three at most).
• Check your wording carefully. A domain name is written as a continuous chain of letters and there are lots of examples of very unfortunate domain names created entirely by accident. Mistakes happen when people don’t think about word breaks; for instance, 'childrens wear' could be split as ‘children swear’, whilst the innocent enough ‘partners talking’ becomes the more sinister ‘partner stalking’. These are both real examples of site name choices that haven’t worked in the way people intended.
• Don’t pick something too similar to an established brand/competitor – you’re more likely to lose traffic than gain it.
• Don’t choose an obscure extension just to get the domain name you want. In the UK most company websites end .com or .co.uk.Settling for a less common extension might mean your name becomes available, but your customers will struggle to find you and will inevitably end up at the.com or .co.uk version of your name, which belongs to someone else.

Need some help with domain registration, digital marketing and website design?

Choosing and registering a domain name can be a tricky process, however, we have staff experienced in web, marketing and branding to provide support for those initial steps. As an Exeter web design agency we build and redesign business websites that are fully responsive so they look great across all devices.  All our websites come with a full range of customisation, digital marketing and e-commerce options

We aim to make promoting your company online as easy as possible, so that you can concentrate on the day-to-day running of your business. Get in touch with us in Exeter to see how we could help with digital marketing or website design.