Choosing the Right Domain Name for Your Website
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David
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February 12th, 2013
There are many things you need to worry about when starting your own website. You need an idea, you need a plan, and you need a name. You website name is probably the most important thing you will come up with during the planning stage. To find the right name for your website, you need to know the basic tenants of great domain names.
Short
Almost every great domain name is as short as possible. You do not want your domain name to be so long that it is a pain for the visitor to enter manually. The hard part is finding a unique domain name that is as short as you can make it. Since the web has been around so long, most of the shortest domain names are already taken. The best thing to do is find the shortest one that you like.
That might mean ditching the .com and instead using a .net or .org.
Memorable and Marketable
In addition to being as short as possible, every great domain name has to be memorable. If you create a domain name like blahblah.org, people might not remember it. But if your domain name is bikinibabes.com, then others are more likely to remember it.
Your domain name is part of your brand. With that said, you don't have to come up with a domain name that describes what kind of company you are. It just needs to be an attention grabber, which makes it easier for others to remember. Think about some of your favorite websites. Mashable.com, for example, is one of the most popular social media and technology news websites. But there's nothing about the name that screams "social media" and "technology news." Instead, the name is short and memorable.
You also want to choose a domain name that is marketable. People are told not to judge a book by its cover, but they do judge websites by their domain names. You want to make sure you have an idea of how your marketing campaign will go for each domain name you consider.
Make Sure you can Live With It
Picking a domain name is a little bit like getting a tattoo – you're going to have it for a long time. Changing the domain name of your business or blog after you are established can be difficult and expensive. Just like a tattoo, make sure the domain name you choose is one that you will be able to live with indefinitely. If you think you will eventually get tired of it, choose something different. Changing domain names can kill your website traffic and hurt your overall branding and marketing efforts. If you're going to change it, though, it's best to do so early before you've built up a large following.
It's a Reflection of You and the Site
These pointers are just the basics. There are many more tips that will help you find a personalized domain name. In the end, your domain name must reflect the personality of the site and its owner. If it does not, it will be much harder for the website to become part of who you are. The best websites are those that the owner takes immense pride in. If you can’t stand your brand name, you won’t have the pride necessary to succeed.