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Choosing Your Domain Name

A website domain name is a key piece of the puzzle when building a website. When exploring a domain name, consider three things: availability, memorability and communicability. The most obvious choice for a domain name is the name of the organization. Think mcdonalds.com, bestbuy.com and walmart.com. But as the number of websites continue to multiply, the availability of obvious domain names is rapidly diminishing.

Availability can be checked at any domain registrar. Enter the domain you desire and you will get a price if the domain is not yet taken. Most registrars will also give you related options if your first choice is already in use. If your name is not an option, consider variations on the name, shortcuts or topically based names. The domain nissan.com was not available for the massive car company. You can find their websites at nissan-global.com and nissanusa.com.

Memorability is the next thing to consider. Refer back to the first paragraph and there are some memorable domain names in that list. Shorter domain names are generally recommended, but not required. Your domain name will impact your email addresses, so keep that in mind. Some professional organizations tend to string together the initials of their names. While this can generate a shorter domain, it may be harder for people to remember.

Communicability is also important. Can you easily tell someone your domain or will you need to spell it, tell them where any dashes might be, or explain why your final three letters (top level domain) are not .com or .org? There are over 1000 different top level domains from .pizza to .law to .church. Even more common top level domains like .net or .biz can create confusion for end users. And beware of the “cute” combinations. The popular convenience store 7-Eleven fits their name (7-eleven.com) but will take a bit of explaining to get it right, “the number 7, dash, eleven written out.com”.

None of these items are deal breakers when choosing a domain name. Google, email software and general automation will mitigate tougher domain names, but keeping availability, memorability and communicability in mind will help the decision making process.