Developers blog

Tips on Domain Name Choice

Clare is the CEO of Discount Domains Ltd a leading UK Domain name registration service.

Before you buy your domain name, give some thought to the following:-

1) If possible use your sites name as the basis of your domain name e.g www.discountdomainsuk.com for Discount Domains UK. This might seem common sense but not every site follows the convention. If you use your name in your URL it will be much easier for your customers to find you.

2) Generic names – if you can register a generic domain such as toys.com that’s great, but most of these have already gone. Also getting ranked in the search engines is likely to be harder. Selected a domain closer to your market segment will cut down the competition. E.g toyplanes.com

3) Hyphenated Names – Its easy to forget the hyphen! Which is the problem, particularly if your customer remembers your name but not your URL. Though on a positive note hyphenated names are less likely to registered already.

4) If the .com or .co.uk extension is not available then consider the alternative TLD ( Top level domain types) such as .net or .biz. If your domain name has already been registered then approach the owner and ask if they’ll sell. They may accept a £100. If you ask, they can only say no.

5) Plurals. Very often a domain name will be free in the plural but not in the singular form. It’s a personal choice, but if your prefered choice of domain name is not available you might be stuck.

6) Short or Long domains – A short domain name is more memorable, but less likely to be available. A longer domain is harder to remember, but can contain more keywords which is important as some of the search engines, use keywords in a domain name as part of the search algorithm.

7) Top Level Domain Type - .com, .co.uk , .net etc This is a question I am often asked. There is no evidence that any domain name type is given preference by the search engines. However some search engines such as Google, have local searches e.g www.google.co.uk which do select local content. Customer often get re-assurance from seeing a local TLD as they know they are dealing with a local company etc. You can of course register all of them!

Variations – If your prefered domain name is not available then its always worth trying a prefix my e.g mydomains.com or suffix e.g domains4U.com etc

Welcome!  You have stumbled upon one of the few web development tutorial sites that encourage you to GET THE FACTS before you create a website.

How to Start Creating a Website

First Step:  Register a Domain (Dot Com) Name

If you’re looking to create a website that will last, you should register your own domain name (yoursite.com), rather than using a free host.

Trust me. It’s no coincidence that many of these companies hide the “Contact” link on their sites.  The support is sub par because their service is free.  You definitely get what you pay for.

Second Step:  Choose a Web Host

You cannot build a website without a host.  This is the company that houses your web files and provides the platform so you can create and  update your site anytime you wish.

Third Step:  Create Your Web Pages

To build your web pages, you’ll either need your own software like CoffeeCup, or Dreamweaver (that’s what I used for this site). Also, many hosts provide website builders with their hosting plans (Website Tonight).

If you want to learn a bit about HTML (the language used to create web pages), see my free HTML tutorial.