Choosing a Domain Name? Here’s Everything You Need to Know About Domains
So, you have decided to build a website and put your business online? Congratulations! That is a good decision. However, before you visualize the design of your website or plan out the many features it will come with, the very first step you need to think about is your domain name.
Choosing a Domain Name? Here’s Everything You Need to Know About Domains
So, you have decided to build a website and put your business online? Congratulations! That is a good decision. However, before you visualize the design of your website or plan out the many features it will come with, the very first step you need to think about is your domain name.
What is a Domain Name?
Domain name refers to the address of a specific website that web users type in the browser’s address bar. Every website has a domain name, and it is what you need if you wish to visit a particular website. To put it simply, imagine websites are houses. The domain name is the home address of each website. Thus, to be able to visit one, you need to type in the website’s address or the domain name in a browser.
The format of a domain name looks like this:
It usually has three parts, namely:
- The top-level domain (TLD), sometimes called domain suffix, which is represented by the .com in our example above.
- The domain or website name, which is represented by “website” above; and
- An optional subdomain, which is represented by “sub” above.
It is the website owner who chooses the domain name for their website, and it is not being assigned randomly. This means that you have the freedom to choose and use which domain name you would like to assign to your website. However, with a billion websites already existing in the world today, it is quite challenging to find short and generic domain names that you can use.
The Importance of Having a Branded Domain
You can literally choose any domain name for your website, as long as it’s still available. However, as a best practice, your domain name should reflect or describe what your website is about.
For instance, if you are running a home design business called Delilah’s Home Design Studio and you plan to build a website for it, an ideal domain name would be delilahhomedesign.com, as opposed to delilahswebsite.com or beautifuldelilah.com
If you need help coming up with the perfect domain name for your website or online business, here are some points to consider why choosing a branded domain is better than getting a generic one.
1. It adds credibility to your business:
When building a website for your business for the first time, you want to look professional and credible to your existing and potential customers. Using generic addresses like coffeeshopsanfrancisco.com or yourfavoritelaundromat.com may look too casual and do not spark inspiration in your customers.
As there are hundreds or thousands of other websites doing what you are doing, you want to prove that your small business is capable and trustworthy. And you can do this by choosing a branded domain over a generic one.
2. It gives you a competitive advantage:
Put yourself in your customers’ shoes. If you had to choose between two businesses by knowing only their name, which one would you trust: McGregor’s Precision Auto Repair or just some auto mechanic repair shop in San Diego, CA?
The business with a specific name sounds more professional, right? This is true for domain names, too. When you choose to put your brand or business name on your website’s address, it will give you a better advantage to customers, separating you from the millions of websites that did not put any effort to create value for their platform or their product.
3. It enables easy recall for your customers:
If your business name is the same as your domain name, there really would not be too much effort promoting it to your existing customers. Say, for instance, you own the Pacific Hardware Store where customers regularly visit. If your website address is also pacifichardwarestore.com, your customers can easily know and remember it as there is consistency between your physical and online store.
4. It boosts your brand image:
More importantly, using a branded domain establishes a strong brand image. It sends a message to your customers that you mean business and you wish to be accessible anytime and anywhere. You are putting yourself and your business in the same online marketplace as your biggest competitors.
A branded domain can mean the difference between building a strong and vibrant online presence and just becoming one of the typical web addresses that people forget.
Things to Consider When Choosing a Domain
Now that you are ready to register for a branded domain, here are some more important things that you should consider.
1. Choose a domain name that is short and easy to remember:
Even if you are still in the early stages of building a website, you should already be thinking about how you will market your site in the future. To help you with this, consider getting a domain name that is short, reflective of your brand, and easy for customers to remember.Furthermore, avoid names that may spark confusion, such as having two or three consecutive same letters, the use of a dash, or having awkward spellings or pronunciations. Overall, you want your domain to be short, simple, and easy to recall.
2. Explore other TLDs.
While .com is the most popular top-level domain (TLD), it does not mean that it’s the only choice you have and that you have to sacrifice your brand name just because it’s not available in .com.There are many other TLDs that you can explore and consider. For example, if you wish to get the domain name powercoaching.com but it has already been taken, you do not have to change your business name because of it. You can instead register for powercoaching.net, powercoaching.edu, or powercoaching.info. All these will keep your branded domain intact.
Opt for an all-inclusive web development service.
Choosing and registering for a domain name is just the start of your web development journey. You still have a long way to go. If you are not sure how to go about the process or you do not have enough technical knowledge to build your own website, get an all-inclusive web design and development service that will take care of all the aspects of creating your business website.At Design and Host, we offer an all-in-one website package that covers all your web development needs, including domain name registration, hosting, website security, web design, logo design, custom email, and so much more. If you are ready to put your business online and create a website that perfectly matches your brand, contact us, and let us discuss your requirements.