Choosing a Domain Name

When you create a website, it's no longer enough to have a good name. You also need a good domain.

A domain is the name users will type to get to your site — like yahoo.com, redcross.org, or whitehouse.gov. Just like cars or houses, domains can be bought, sold and traded. All domain names on the Internet are registered through a nonprofit corporation called ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.

Background

Every computer connected to the Internet is identified by a string of numbers called an IP address (IP stands for “Internet Protocol”). These numbers can be hard to remember and a pain to type. A domain works like a forwarding address — it is a shortcut that lets you get to a site by typing in an easy-to-remember word or phrase instead of all those numbers. Throughout the Internet, computers called domain name servers work together to keep a list of domains and their matching IP addresses and make sure that users typing a domain into their web browser get sent to the correct IP address.

Buying and registering a domain name has several advantages:

• Easy access. It’s simpler for users to type in http://www.mysite.com than http://www.hostname.com/abc123/mysite/index.html. A domain name also makes your site appear more professional to visitors.
• Consistent links. As your site becomes more successful, you may need to change the company that hosts it on the web to ensure that the site can handle the extra visitors. If that happens, the actual computer your site is stored on may change, which will change your site’s IP address. But you can update your listing on the Internet’s domain name servers to point to the new IP address. This ensures that users will always find your site when they type in your domain name. Think of it as the web equivalent of filing a change-of-address form at the post office.
• Consistent e-mail addresses. Instead of using an address from AOL, Earthlink, or another web host, you can get an e-mail address at yourname@yourdomain.com and know that your e-mail will always reach you.

What Makes A Good Domain Name?

Domain names need to be:

1. Short
2. Logical
3. Simple
4. Available

Short is important because you want to put your domain name everywhere – on business cards, on your letterhead, in your phone message and on your bumper. Short names are easy to type and easy for visitors to remember.

When choosing a domain name, don’t worry about:

1. Being first alphabetically. Being last didn't hurt Yahoo. All else being equal, though, an "A" name isn't a bad idea.
2. Being catchy. There are only a few companies big enough to generate their own cool factor from their domain names (Yahoo, Amazon, Google) and thousands of companies that died trying.

Logical names help you avoid confusion and build trust with your visitors. If your site is named bikingbeluga.com, but has nothing to do with cycling or whales, you’ll disappoint some visitors and make it harder to earn their trust.

Simple names will help prevent spelling errors and mix-ups. Don't choose accommodations.com, because people just can't remember how many Cs and Ms and Os there are. Avoid names with silent letters or possible misspellings.

Beware of unexpected word combinations. There once was a site about employment opportunities for forestry employees. They chose the name lumberjacksexchange.com. They’re no longer in business. PublishIt.com is another example of a site whose name can have unintended associations.

If you choose a domain name that has a hyphen in it – delicious-muffins.com, for example – your visitors may forget to type that hyphen and end up at a competitor’s deliciousmuffins.com site. On the other hand, if you register deliciousmuffins.com, it won’t hurt to also register delicious-muffins.com or other hyphenated variations of your name. It’s relatively inexpensive to register additional domain names and you can point more than one domain to a particular site. Doing so prevents someone else from setting up a site with a name a lot like yours.

Needless to say, all these efforts won’t add up if the name you want isn’t available as well.

> READ NEXT ARTICLE: Registering a Domain

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