Five Things To Think About When Choosing A Domain Name For Your Website
We get a lot of questions about domain names so it seemed like a logical subject for our next blog post. Here it is then, five things to think about when choosing a domain name for your website.
-
Steer clear of unusual spellings or abbreviations
When people try to find your company online they will first type your name as it is heard or seen. If your domain name has a different spelling or abbreviation, it will be harder to find.
-
Keep your domain name short
According to the latest research, the perfect length for a domain name is between 6 and 14 letters. This being said, the general rule is the shorter the better. This safeguards against misspelling when people type your website URL in to the address bar of their browser.
-
Choose an appropriate extension
There may be a sensible opportunity for you to use a slightly different extension, especially if you are targeting a specific area and can use a .london or .kent domain extension, but in general sticking to the common trusted extensions is the way to go. Ideally a .com is always best however different countries have trends with different extensions. Here in the UK for example, a huge amount of people and businesses also use co.uk making it a close second in the most popular and most trusted extensions.
-
Avoid hyphens and numbers
Numbers are a no go when it comes to domains. They confuse people as they can type the digit or the word and this makes you harder to find. The same goes for hyphens. They are rarely used in searches which can hinder a user when trying to find your site, either on a search engine or by typing a url directly.
-
Is it memorable?
This last one is very important. Is the domain memorable. Can it become a unforgettable brand? Once you are ready and you have a domain name that you are thinking of using, talk to friends or family about it and find out what they think. You can always then ask them a couple of days later and see if they remember the name. That should give you a good idea!
Hopefully this answers some of the questions you may have regarding your domain name choices. This blog only really scratches the surface and there are many, many more considerations which you can take into account when deciding what name to go for.
If you do have any more questions, feel free to get in touch with us here at SMC Creations.
If you would like to find out more about our website design, building and hosting services click here