Domain Names
A website without a domain name is like a book without a title: useless, in other words. Often, web designers will offer the domain name as part of a design package and the designer will take care of all the registration and other administrative tasks, leaving the choice of name as your only task.
What is a good domain name?
The bad news is that many single-word domain names are already long gone. Still, there are many ways to create your unique name by compounding two words.
For example, you can combine what you are selling with where you are selling it. Using Mary‘s case as an example, she might want to choose something like www.halifaxwool.com (inactive) or www.haliifax-wool.com (inactive). You should keep them as short and simple as possible. The easier it is for someone to remember your domain name, the more likely it is that he or she will visit it later on.
Dot com or dot ca?
Your domain name has to have an ending. The “.com” is by far the most popular one and should be used if you have a commercial enterprise. If you have found a great name but the “.com” is no longer available, the next best choice would be “.ca” or “.net.”
I personally don’t bother with all the other available possibilities like “.biz” or “.info.” There is nothing intrinsically wrong with using one, but most people are not even aware that they exist. Stick with the “.com” extension unless you are a non-profit organization, in which case the “.org” is a better choice.
How can I check if my name has already been taken?
It’s actually very easy to check for domain names. To check whether a domain name ending in .com or .org or.net is still available, go to this site and type in the name. To see if a name with a .ca ending is still available you can check here. You might have to try a number of combinations until you find one that is still free.
Once you have found a name that is available, write it down so that you can communicate it to your web designer at a later date. Alternatively you might choose to simply go out and buy the name. There are literally hundreds of sites that will allow you to register a domain. I will not recommend one over the other, but if you need a place to start, netfirms or godaddy are two popular ones. Expect to pay between $8.00 and $20.00 per domain per year depending on which company you choose to register your name with.
Should I get more than one version of my name?
For the average business owner, there is really not much point in getting more than one version of a domain name. If Mary, for example, can get www.halifaxwool.com, there is no need to get www.halifaxwool.info or www.halifaxwool.net too. Larger companies, who want to secure their names, will likely make sure that no one else swipes their trademark, but smaller companies don’t have to worry about it.
Right, so you have found a domain name that suits your business. You are one step away from getting your new website up and running.
NEXT: Putting your website together >>
