How to choose a domain name

A good domain name can help with the success of your website. A poorly chosen domain, on the other hand, can hinder its success.

1 Domain name content
2 Domain name variations
3 What to avoid (or be careful with) in a domain/business name
4 Domain name length
5 See also

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Domain name content

Make it easy to remember.
For a business site, use your business name or a variation of it.

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Domain name variations

To prevent other people from capitalizing on your success, register different extensions of the domain if possible. For example, if you have a .com domain, consider registering the .net, .info, and perhaps other variations. (If you have a country-specific domain extension and your site is primarily for people in that country, having more than one domain is less important.)
If your domain has common misspellings, register the misspellings and point them to your site.
Generic domains can be useful for advertising.

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What to avoid (or be careful with) in a domain/business name

Numbers can be confusing. Some people will type the number as a numeral, and others will type it as a word. If you really want to use a number in a domain, register it both ways, e.g., superproducts2go.com and superproductstogo.com.
Be especially careful with 1 and 0. 1 can look like the letter I, and the number 0 can look like the letter O.
In general, pick a domain that is easily spelled when spoken.
Hyphens in domains generally aren't a good idea. People will type the domain with and without the hyphens. If you really want hyphens, register the domain with and without them and have both domains point to your website. And if the unhyphenated version isn't available, you're risking losing business to that site because of people who go there when looking for your site.
Don't choose a domain name where the plural form could be confusing, for example, ohioschool.com and ohioschools.com. If both aren't available, you risk losing site visitors to the other domain name. For most domains, this isn't a problem. For example, lawyers.com would obviously be a directory, and lawyer.com would be a specific (lucky) lawyer's web site. However, if your domain name in plural form is available, you should register it.
Don't choose a domain name that contains double consonants, especially the letter s, such as workssuper.com.
If you coin a word or use an uncommon surname for your business name, be prepared for no one to know how to spell it until you've spent millions in branding. Try using common words in your business name instead.

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Domain name length

The shortest domain names are already registered. While you probably can't get a three-letter domain, you can still consider length.

Shorter is generally better. It's easier to type, write, and fit on business cards and other publications.
Longer may be better than shorter when it's a phrase that people can remember easily.
Avoid more than three or (at the most) four words in a domain name.

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