How to choose a web hosting company domain name
A good name for a web hosting company contributes to its success. It needs to convey the right message, be easy to remember, and have an available domain name to go with it. With online businesses in particular, the domain is often the starting point to choosing a company name. The perfect business name won't work online if domains that fit with it are already taken.
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Domain extensions for business site domains
In general, it's recommended to get a domain with a .com extension. If you use a .net domain for your business, you risk losing business to the site with the .com extension. This is especially true in the web hosting industry, where domain names are specific to the industry. In addition, you don't want a company name that's too similar to another company in the same industry, regardless of what domain it uses.
Furthermore, .com domains have a much greater resale value than domains with other extensions. Your business will be worth more with a .com extension if you decide to sell it in the future. It's common practice to also register the .net version of the domain and perhaps the .org and .info domains as well to protect your brand.
Domain name sources
Domains for sale
Domain names suitable for web hosting companies are advertised in web hosting forums and often at other sites where domain names are sold. If the domain name has already been used for a web hosting company, you might have the option to buy existing clients or the entire company with the domain name.
Expiring and pending delete domains
Lists of expiring or pending-delete domains may have something suitable. If a domain you want is expiring, you can bid for it. Or if a domain is pending delete, you can use a domain dropcatcher service to try to register the domain for you the instant it drops.
You can also try your luck at grabbing the domain yourself at the moment it drops, but if the domain is valuable, chances are that a domain dropcatcher service will get it before you do.
Domain name suggestion tools
Numerous tools online can help you choose a domain name by providing suggestions using words you enter. A search for "domain name suggest" or similar search terms leads to domain name suggestion tools.
Your imagination
Brainstorm. Write down words you'd like to use in a domain name and find out which word combinations are available. Use a dictionary or thesaurus. Ask your friends for ideas.
After you find a domain you want
When you find a domain you like that's available, check if the business name is available and that it isn't too similar to the names of any other web hosting companies. Also check the history of the domain name. If it was previously registered and is associated with numerous bad reviews, that history will remain attached to the domain. The good news is that the domain may still have backlinks. You can make it clear at your website that a different company now owns the domain, but you'll have to take the bad with the good as you work to build a new reputation connected with the domain.
See also
WHTwiki pages
Web Hosting Talk domain advertising forums
Web Hosting Wiki article text shared under a Creative Commons License.
