The reason being that domains could be around for several years once they are put into action by any site, choosing one needs more thought than just choosing any name available. The perfect domain should be unique and easy to spell and read, as well as relevant to your target audience.
This applies in the case when you have just started something new, have opened an online portfolio, taken up a community project, or even set up your own site. It is important to consider the domain name, its extension, its cost, and finally its use with the website and emails.
Start With a Name People Can Remember
A domain that works well will be brief and easy to understand and pronounce. If the domain address is heard by the other person, there should be at least a fair chance for the person to remember and correctly type the address later.
For businesses, it will be a preference to use their trading or brand name. The business named North Street Bakes may prefer northstreetbakes.co.uk instead of having a lengthy address including all products or locations that it offers.
The flexibility of personal projects allows them to use any domain name as per their choice. A photographer can use his own name while a blogger can select any project name that suits him. The same basic guidelines need to be kept in mind like avoiding extra numbers, spelling variations and long phrases.
Using hyphens may help in making some unavailable domains available. However, they may make the address difficult to pronounce orally. Before finalizing, speak out the domain address a couple of times.
Check Availability Before Becoming Attached to a Name
A suitable name on paper doesn't automatically guarantee its registration because someone else may already own the domain even though there isn't any active site on it.
Always have other options before carrying out the search for your domain. You may try abbreviating the business name or eliminating any word which you feel is superfluous.
Moreover, it is important to know if there are similar businesses with similar names. Having a domain which is very close to what a similar business is using may create confusion among clients.
When you are ready to check the exact address, services such as oXnames allow you to see whether a UK-focused name is available and register a .co.uk domain if it suits the project. Checking availability early can prevent you from investing time in logos, printed materials or social accounts built around a name you cannot secure.
Decide Between .co.uk and .com
Your domain extension will play an important part in the image that your website conveys to the user visiting your website.
In case of a business that caters largely to customers in Britain, then the .co.uk is a very familiar name and suggests that the business belongs to the UK. This would suit many businesses that operate in their own country only.
The .com is very internationally neutral. This would be preferable for a company that plans to operate in many different countries.
Neither method can be considered universally applicable to all projects. A freelance designer who deals exclusively with British clients would be better off using .co.uk, while a company selling its software globally would prefer .com.
This rule applies to personal sites as well. If your blog, portfolio, or community is British, then using a UK extension may be a good idea. But if the target audience is global, .com would seem more natural.
It is important to remember that extensions are independent domain registrations. Having one extension of your domain does not guarantee that you have registered all others.
Look Beyond the Introductory Price
The low cost of the first year's registration sounds tempting, but this is just one factor of the whole cost.
Check what the regular renewal rate is like before picking a registrar. When you plan to have a domain for five or ten years, then renewal costs become much more significant than the initial discounted offer.
It is necessary to check whether additional services such as the option of privacy protection, DNS hosting, or email forwarding are provided along with the basic registration or offered as extra services.
It is possible to activate the option of automatic renewals for business domains to avoid unintentional letting the registration lapse. It is also necessary to update the account and payment details regularly. There are processes related to renewal and expiring domains managed by Nominet that are responsible for the administration of the .UK namespace.
Make Sure You Control the Registration
It would typically be a bad idea to register a domain name with information that belongs to some temporary employee or freelancer hired to design your website, but is not really part of your business team.
This applies to private ventures as well: use an email account that you intend to keep forever, and make sure that your login credentials remain safe.
Your web developer may be granted any access he or she requires without having ownership of the domain itself. Retaining control over your domain registration simplifies the process of switching web hosts, web designers or other providers later on.
Understand the Difference Between a Domain and Hosting
Just because someone buys a domain, it doesn’t mean that they’ll get the website too.
In other words, the domain is the location where people type their URL. As for web hosting, this service is needed to store and transfer your website. You can buy them from one company or from different providers.
Both services are linked through DNS settings. Normally, you get the necessary records or nameservers from the web hosting provider, and then add them to your domain account.
The advantage of this is that you can register your domain name while still developing your website. If you have just started your business, buying a domain beforehand can make sense.
Plan Your Email Setup at the Same Time
Your website domain can not only help redirect visitors to your website but it can also provide you with a more professional-looking email address. It is advisable to use an email address like [email protected] to make your small business look more reputable. At the time of the launch, it must be ensured that your hosting plan comes with an email feature.
Alternatively, if that is not the case then you need a separate email service provider for yourself. Business owners can create multiple email addresses like enquires@ or support@ whereas individuals who own personal sites may require just one.
Choose for the Long Term
It is possible to change domains at a later stage, but that makes unnecessary work for yourself. Website redirects, email addresses, printing materials, search engine visibility, and customer behaviors may have to be changed.
Take a bit more time researching your name, your extension, your contract terms, and how it will be owned before registering it. Also ensure you understand how the domain will tie in with your hosting and email services.
There is no need to be clever with a good domain. All it needs to be is memorable and suitable for its target audience.
