8 Quick Tips to Choosing a Domain Name
Your domain name
is the center of your Internet identity. So what type of things
should you take into consideration when choosing the name that will
represent you on the Web? Here are 8 quick tips you want to take
into consideration:
1. Keep it short
Although you can
now register a name with up to 63 characters, you have to keep in
mind that people need to be able to remember it, and easily type it
into their browser. Try to register the shortest name that your
customers and visitors will associate with your Website. The general
rule of thumb is, keep it under ten characters if possible. (Not
including the suffix.)
2. Dot What?
There are many
different extensions available right now. For businesses, we
recommend a .com suffix. It is the first extension that most people
try when searching for a Website. Also, since it is one of the
oldest extensions, .com shows that your business has been around for
a while and that you have a well-established presence on the Web.
3. Avoid Trademarked Names
There are two
really good reasons for this. First, it’s not very nice. We have all
heard the stories about the lucky guy who thought ahead and bought
"some-huge-multi-million-dollar-company.com" and sold it to the
company for enough money to retire on. But, remember that those
companies, like yours, have spent lots of time and money creating
their brand, and what goes around comes around. Also, companies are
no longer opening their pocketbooks to get their names back. They
are calling their lawyers.
4. Register Your Domain NOW
Domain names are
being snatched up faster than candy at the St. Patrick’s Day parade.
You must register soon unless you want to get stuck with
"the-domain-name-that-no-one-wanted.net". You do not have to have a
Webmaster or an ecommerce department or a Web design consultant
or... Heck, you don’t even need a Web page. Just get out there and
register before you loose the opportunity to get the name you really
want.
5. One May Not Be Enough
Sometimes, it
isn’t 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 page for each.
Several domains can point to the same Website.)
6. Character Types
Just a reminder.
Domain names can only use letters, numbers, and dashes. Spaces and
symbols are not allowed. Also, domain names are not case sensitive,
mydomain.com is the same as MyDomain.com
7. Ask Around
When you have
settled on several available name choices, see what your friends and
clients have to say. A name that may make perfect sense to you may
be too hard for other people to remember. Is your domain easy to
say? Is it hard to spell? Do you have to explain why you chose the
name?
8. Don’t Shell Out Large Amounts of $$$
At one time,
companies were able to get away with charging reservation fees plus
a "mandatory" $70 InterNIC fee. This has now changed completely.
There are so many companies registering domain names, you should be
able to get a good bargain. Active-Domain offers one of the lowest
price you could find, on top of the free services you get which most
companies are charging extra fee for them. Don't just look at the
price, see what other features you get with your domain. You
shouldn't have to pay anything extra for email/web redirection
and even subdomains.
And remember, if
you think that if 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!
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