Choosing A Domain Name

The domain name is like the road-front sign for a Web site. For this reason care should be exercised when choosing a domain name. A good domain name can attract traffic while an irrelevant domain name may end up getting ignored by potential customers.

The domain names that are most memorable are those that are made of three to six characters. This makes them easy to remember and easy to type. Long or complicated names run the risk of being remember or spelled incorrectly. This can result in the customer not finding the correct Web site or worse: finding a competitor's Web site.

The domain name should relate to business the Web site represents. The object is to irrevocably link the concept of the business and the domain name in the customer's mind. If the business sells light bulbs and domain name is "bulb", customers are likely to remember that.

It is usually a good idea to use the company's name as the domain name, provided it is well known and not challenging to type accurately into a Web browser. This makes it easy for customers to locate the Web site. If it is a new company the domain name should be selected to describe company.

Avoid using hyphens in a domain name, as they are difficult to remember. Also keep in mind that domain names without a hyphen have a higher resale value than to those that have a hyphen.

Sometimes numbers are used in domain names. This can work well if it makes a domain name easy to remember. However, it should be avoided if the numbers are used phonetically. For using the number four to replace the word "for" can serve to confuse people.

Only the owner of a trademark should register a domain name that includes that trademark. Registering a domain name that infringes a trademark can lead to costly legal battles.

The owners should always register their own domain names. Don't allow the domain name to be registered through a Web host, even if they offer this as a free service. Too often this ends up in the domain name being registered in the Web host's name, causing countless potential problems. For example, should it become desirable to change Web hosts at some future date the current host may refuse to transfer the domain name, or may demand a fee. While it's possible to report such action to the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Num