Choosing a domain name
A domain name locates an organization or entity on the internet. Hence the most significant decision while creating your website is to choose the most appropriate domain name as it is the key to your website. Your online presence is dependent on the effectiveness of its domain name to a large extent.
Domain names can be divided into three parts as follows:
1. Country Code Top Level domain e.g. .us (for united states), .in(for India),.ca(for Canada) etc.
2. Top Level Code e.g. .com (for business houses), .net (for networking) .org (for non-profit making organizations) etc
3. Middle Level i.e. the name of the concern e.g. in ford.com ford is the mid level domain name.
Points to remember while choosing a Domain Name
• Short and simple
Even though a domain name can be of 67 alpha numeric characters, but a short name is suggested. This makes the address to the point and easier to remember. It also reduces confusions and chance of spelling mistakes in comparison to long ones e.g. getit.com is far better than connecttomywebsiteandobtainit.com.
• Fast
Once you have decided on a name, it is important to act fast to register it immediately. Otherwise someone else might register it and you may loose out your chance to get the most appropriate name.
• Avoid similarities
If your competitor has a name similar to you it is recommended to avoid the similar name as you might lose a potential customer who wrongly goes to the address of your competitor because of similarity in names.
• Buy the variations
To reduce the risk of confusions it is suggested to buy all the variations of extensions e.g. buy .net, .org, .info along with .com so that if anyone wrongly types .net after your name don’t go to a competitor’s address.
• Generic names or Brand names
Some people opine that generic names e.g. if your business is related to cars then the domain name should have .cars but since people think of brands when they think of cars it is recommended to have the brand name in the domain name as it also helps in promoting the brand name.
• Hyphenated words
It is recommended to avoid hyphenated words in the domain name because people tend to forget them. Moreover if any one recommends any web site via telephone usually skips the hyphens. So by avoiding use of hyphens web address can be made simple. The advantage of having a hyphenated web address is that, the search engines can easily distinguish your keywords better and return your site more prominently in search results. Still it is always suggested to register non – hyphenated words.
• Avoid 2 for to, u for you
It is recommended to avoid 2 in place of to, 4 in place of for, u in place of you as they create confusions even though it seems to be cool.
• Take opinions
Once you have decided the name, it is always beneficial for you to take opinions from friends, colleagues, business associates or clients. What appears appropriate to you might not seem same to others and so taking a feedback from others helps you sometimes.
• Choose a professional
A professional would be able to give a sound advice and a correct name that would help you, to generate a powerful web presence. Their suggestions might help you to come up with better ideas.
• Name not to be too specific
You might be specializing on one area of business but the chance of a diversification always exists. So it is suggested that the name should not be too specific to your current business as people tend to recognize you by the name.
• E-mail from own domain
Sending e-mails from own domain name acts as a sales promotional tool. So the e-mail addresses should have the company’s own domain name.
• Don’t spend a fortune on a particular name
In case the name that you have decided is already registered in someone else’s name don’t spend a fortune to get that name. Rather, it is recommended to go for the second best name and spend the fortune on building up a brand name instead.
• Don’t take trademarked names
One should not opt for a name that is already trademarked by someone else. This is illegal and hence should be avoided.
• Renew registration
Always remember when your domain registration renewal is due and renew it on time so that no one snatches your site name away from you.
If the company has its own domain name it gives them the control to choose the most suitable web host. Again it eases the process of moving to a new host, if they are not satisfied with the service provided by the existing web host. Hence choosing a web address is a crucial decision that should be taken after analyzing the above points carefully.
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