So you've decided to put a web site up on the Internet. In
this article, we will discuss the best way to choose a
domain name for your business web site, but many of the same
principles apply if you are choosing a name for a hobby or
informational site. So, let's choose a name for your little
piece of the Internet.
First, let's talk about some of the biggest mistakes that
people make in choosing a domain name. When you're in
business, you want to make sure that people are able to find
you on the Internet. So here are a couple of things to
avoid when choosing your Internet domain name.
The basic mantra of naming your site is to avoid using
numbers in your domain name. Many of the websites on the
Internet use numbers either to save letters or to seem
different. As an example, a person might name his or her
website as www.fun4pets.com for a pet-related website.
People who wish to access this site would have to make sure
whether the 4 in this domain name is a number or the words
'for' or 'four'. This is how confusing it can get.
Avoid hyphens. It is not advisable to use hyphens in a
domain name on your Internet site. They are not easy to
remember. When people use hyphens in domain names they
presume that the potential customers will remember them,
which is quite unlikely. For instance, when customers see a
domain name like 'www.online-toy-store.net' they are most
probably going to type 'www.funforpets.com' because it is
more logical and definitely makes more sense. Thus, avoid
superfluous things.
Now let us consider some things that you should do when
looking for a domain name. The first and foremost thing is
to always use a '. com' extension for domain names. People
are accustomed to typing in the URL to their Internet
browser. Use of other extensions like - .net, .org, .biz,
.org have the risk that you might send people to another
site altogether. But if the name is not available with
'.com', then you have to pick another domain.
Socondly, you must select a name which is easy to spell.
Most people, these days, don't pay attention to spellings,
and if your name is difficult to spell it will surely be
misspelt. For instance, a site called
'www.specialoccasions.com' can have such hilarious versions
as 'www.spechulokashens.com', and this is not the worst
example; there are many much worse and more hilarious.
It would also be prudent to keep the domain name short. Two
to three words, and under 25 characters, are considered
most acceptable. In this way, the chances of mistyped URLs
could be avoided. The chances of people making mistakes and
missing letters when you give a name to your website such
as www.thebestwebsiteevernomatterwhat.com is quite high.
You could assume the guidelines stated above to be of a
general nature. There are always going to be exceptions to
the rule. Just keep in mind these when you give a domain
name to your website and you would find that your business
would thrive as people would find your website with ease.