How to Choose a Domain Name for your Website

How to Choose a Domain Name for your Website

If you wish to register your own domain for your website, we have some handy tips for you. The key points you need to consider are:

1) How to Choose a Domain Name
2) How to Register a Domain Name
3) How to Configure a Domain Name

1) How to Choose a Domain Name

OK, we all agree, the best domain names have already been taken. However, if you are creative with your word selection and think laterally, you can come up with a great domain name. The following advice is particularly relevant to your business website, however you can apply the same rationale to your own personal websites and sports website.

Domain Name Tips
You may wish to consider the following tips:

Technical Constraints:
# Do not use an ampersand '&'. Technically, it is illegal, so you should also avoid 'and'.
# Do not use apostrophes. Technically, it is illegal and therefore the use of an apostrophe is not permitted.
# Do not start or end with a hyphen (-).
# The permitted characters are: abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789-
# All characters are lower case.

Do Not:
# Do not panic!
# If possible, do not use hyphens.
# If possible, do not use numerical characters.
# If possible, do not use mobile phone text message abbreviations.
# If possible, do not use '2' for 'to', '4' for 'for', 'u' for 'you' and 'ur' for 'your'.
# Do not try to be too cool by using deliberate spelling mistakes. It's just not kool!
# If possible, do not pad your domain name with unnecessary words like 'the', 'ltd' and 'company'.
# Do not use brand names or trade marks which belong to other companies.
# Do not use a limited (incorporated) company name which belongs to another company.
# If in doubt, check out the Companies House website, perform a name check free of charge and check the directory of UK Limited Companies.
# If relevant to your business, also consult a Company Formation agent.
# If you use more than one word, do not end and start words with the same character. For example, www.intelligenttelephones.com is not good, whereas www.businesstelephones.com is good.
# Do not pay over the odds, because there are hidden charges to avoid.
# For your registration service, we recommend: domain hosting and we will provide your web hosting service.

Do:
# Keep it short.
# Make sure it is easy to spell.
# Make sure it is easy to pronounce on the phone.
# Use simple and plain English.
# Use real words from the dictionary.
# Use search engine keywords.
# Keep it descriptive! Use words which describe exactly what you do.
# Keep it simple and don't confuse your audience. What is this? www.shoeswearing.com Is it 'Shoe Swearing' or 'Shoes Wearing'?
# Cover your options and buy more than one domain if you need to.
# Only index one domain per website on search engines, if you wish to avoid diluting your search engine ranking.
# Choose the right domain provider. They are not all the same and many have hidden charges.
# For your registration needs, we recommend: domain registration.
# Use a popular and mainstream domain extension.
# Choose the right domain extension for your market or country. For example .COM for International; .CO.UK for UK; .CA for Canada; .COM.AU for Australia.
# And finally, check your spelling before you buy and register online.



Domain Name versus Business Name versus Brand versus Limited Company Name
In an ideal world, you will have one name and it will be the same name for your domain, your brand and your incorporated business name. If you assume the internet was born in 1990, then it tells us that this ideal world we are referring to was in the early 90's.

Back in the real world, here we are nearly 20 years later. Unfortunately all of the short and snappy domain names are not available.

Let's assume you are based in Brighton, your business is called 'The Homestead Partnership Limited' and you run a home decorating business. Then (subject to availability), you should register two or more domains:

With this combination, we suggest you print www.homesteadpartnership.com on your business stationery (business cards, letterheads etc) and you index www.brightondecorators.com on search engines, because it contains search engine keywords and more importantly, it says exactly what you do!