About Web Design:

How Domain Names
are Shaping the Future
of Your Business

When starting a business we make important decisions, like selecting a good business name or logo. Picking the right domain name is just as important and making a mistake can cost you a lot of time and money.

When selecting a business name, you should first check if it's already being used by some other company. You should do so for several reasons, but primarily you just want to be original and you do not want people to have any confusion when hearing the name of your business - it is your brand after all. It is at this beginning stage when you should also check the availability of the domain name.

The reason is simple - imagine you are opening a toy store with the aspiration to become a global network one day. You set up your business, file all the paperwork and only then check on the internet. You type your business name into the address bar only to find that it is already taken... serving adult content. That's just one of the many reasons you should check on the internet when selecting your business name, but let's get to the basics first.

Web Address or Domain Name?

Image Credits to doug888888

Currently, most serious businesses have a website or at least an e-mail account with its own domain name. Some people decide to use free e-mail, which looks very unprofessional, but there is often a reason why they do not opt for a paid domain name. They are frequently confused by all the technical jargon and some of them don't even know what the words 'domain name' mean. They are unaware that a domain name is the website address you type into the address bar.

Your domain name represents the location of your website on the internet. Every computer connected to the web is assigned an IP address, similar to GPS coordinates. Your domain name is just like your regular home address-it defines your location using an easy to remember address, consisting of words and numbers, so that everyone can find you. It would be much harder to remember '74.125.45.100', which is why you use www.google.com - much easier isn't it? Yet you can still access Google by typing its IP number into the address bar.

Unfortunately, most of the short, simple domain names are already taken. It is not easy to find a good web address anymore and therefore creativity must kick in and the result is that you hear about websites called www.flickr.com, www.digg.com or www.del.icio.us. You can be as creative as you wish, but there are still restrictions.

First of all, only letters, numbers and hyphens are allowed in domain names and it's actually only in the first part of the domain name where you can be creative. The second part of a domain name is called a "top level domain" (TLD) and you can pick one from the list during the registration process - there are over 20 generic top-level domains like .com, .net or .org and over 200 country code top-level domains like .ie, .au or .pl. Your new web address can be long, but it is counterproductive to register very long domain names. Most registrars won't allow you to register domain names longer than 62 characters.

All domain names are case insensitive. This means that it does not matter if you type in HubForce.com or hubforce.com - you will still end up at the same place. However, this can lead to some big problems and confusion, like the domain name Who Represents (www.whorepresents.com)

How to Pick the Right Domain Names?

Image Credits to pshutterbug

When looking for a domain name, you can easily check if it is available or already taken by using websites like www.who.is, domize.com - the former will also give you the owner information if the domain is taken, when it was registered and when it will be renewed. But how should you decide which address is best for you?

If you are looking for a website for your company, the choice is simple - try your company name with .com. If it is taken and you are at the initial stage of starting your business, consider changing your business name. It will help you avoid serious problems in the future.

If you are stuck with a name, then try to be creative and do your best to avoid confusion. Putting 'the', 'i' or 'e' at the beginning of the domain is not enough. If your business is called Silver Boomerang, and silverboomerang.com is taken, registering thesilverboomerang.com is not a good idea. Most people will forget to add 'the' or any other letters at the beginning and will end up on the wrong website.

Your domain name should be unique so that you are never confused with somebody else - this will help you build your brand and improve word-of-mouth marketing. It should be short and memorable. You should have no problem spelling it out on the phone and it should be easy to type. Avoiding letters like 'q', 'z', 'x' or 'c' is a good idea, as they are difficult to type fast. Further, your domain name does not have to be connected with what you do or who you are at all - the majority of successful websites use words that are memorable but do not represent what they do.

In addition, your logo should be creative enough to grab others' attention and them help remember the address of your website. It is good to invest in a professionally designed logo that will play well with your website address - this will help you build your brand and differentiate your business from the competition.

SEO for Domain Names

When you are starting your business, you are putting a lot of effort into building something that will last and grow. Your business name and your web address should not be tied to the technology of today. For example, some years ago companies registered as 'AAA Cars Sales' or 'AAA Renovations' just to get to the top of their category in alphabetical phone books.

Now people are doing what they can to get to the top of search engine listings, not knowing what kind of technology everyone will be using in 20 years time. It is important for your business to be at the top but don't sacrifice your image and professionalism in the process. You can do well with the search engines by other means than having a bland and boring web address. It really doesn't look so good when you use something like 'professional-budget-window-cleaning.com'.

Enriching your domain name with keywords is a good idea if done right - look at problogger.com or engadget.com, but the main point is to be original and memorable.

Image Credits to Danard Vincente

If you want to use a keyword in your domain name, the right way to do it is to take several keywords that fit with your offerings and then start brainstorming them on your own or with relatives. Add prefixes or suffixes but avoid using hyphens, digits or multiword phrases - they often confuse people and cause misspellings. Handy tools like www.makewords.com or www.dotomator.com may greatly assist you in this process. Try using one word or two at most and avoid 'the'. Once you have several options, check their availability and then have a good night's sleep before you actually register it.

How to Register a Domain Name

If you found a really good domain name, you should conduct a few checks before you register it. The first check should be obvious - type it in into the Google and Yahoo search engines and see what comes up. Spammers abuse domain names and then abandon them after every spam fighting site, browser and search engine bans them from their indexes. The last thing you need is a domain name that will bury your content instead of promoting it. Avoid web addresses containing names of other registered products and trademarks on the market to prevent legal problems, especially if you plan to operate globally.

Most of the domains registered today were already used at some stage in the past. This can affect how your domain name will work. After initially checking on search engines you should use the 'Way Back Machine' (www.archive.org) to check what was hosted under your selected domain name months and years ago. It would be risky, for example, to use a domain name for a toy store that was serving adult content in the past.

Some online directories, caches and archives may still contain the old data and display it. Once you are ready to register, use one of the big name registrars like GoDaddy, NameCheap or Register365 (especially for Irish domain names). Alternatively, use a web design company that will take care of all the procedures and will advise you on your options, like Aeronstudio.

What is your experience with domain names? Do you know of any good stories? Leave your comments using the form below. 8gf9qhp46u