Choosing a Domain Name

Choose a good domain name for your website.

The best domain names are short, easy to remember, easy to communicate and easy to type.

Tips and hints for choosing your domain name

1. When you first begin your domain name search, it helps to have some terms or phrases in mind that best describe the domain you’re seeking.
2. Make sure the domain name is easy to type, if your domain name requires considerable attention to type correctly, due to spelling, length or the use of un-memorable words or sounds, you’ve lost a good portion of your branding and marketing value.
3. When someone hears about your domain name for the first time, they should be able to instantly and accurately guess at the type of content that might be found there.
4. Choose a domain name that is full of keywords that are related to your website. If your site sells vitamins then try and choose a domain name that contains the word “vitamins” in the domain name.
5. If at all possible then avoid using a hyphenated domain name. Sure, many businesses will use a domain name with a hyphen or even two or three but the two main problems with hyphenated domain names is that people forget where the hyphens go (or forget them altogether) and hyphenated domain names can lose traffic to similar domain names that do not have hyphens
6. Numerals in a domain can work ok but avoid substituting common words with numerals as they can often be confusing and hard to remember. For example, try not to use the numeral “4? instead of “for”, “2? instead of “to”, etc.
7. You should ensure that your domain name is not a commonly known brand name or trademark. Something like “Microsoftwebdesign.co.za” would not be a good choice!
8. Make sure you keep your contact information up-to-date. Although your domain name supplier is bound to contact you when a domain name comes up for renewal, it is your responsibility in the end.