13 July      Susan M.

How to Pick a Domain Name for Your Business

Are you thinking of launching an online business or starting a blog? Then, you need to focus on picking out a domain name. Many people don’t realize what a challenging task this is. Normally, the domain name would just be the name of the business.

However, in 2016, the estimated number of all domain names on the internet came up to 326.4 million. And this was only in the first quarter. Today, the number is much higher, almost hitting a billion. Given this factor, it is clear that picking a domain name is not as easy as it once was.

So, if you’re finding it difficult to match your domain name to your business name, the following are some key factors that you should pay attention to when picking an alternative:



Phonetically Easy
It’s a good idea to say the domain name out loud and see how easy it is to pronounce it. People tend to spell phonetically at times and a domain name that is easy to pronounce and understand is going to stick in people’s mind. What’s good about this is that it will also be very easy for them to spell it.

To test out your domain name suggestion, make sure to ask your team to spell it just by listening to it. If they are unable to spell it properly, it is better to change the domain name. Keep trying out each option until you find the right name.

Can be Expanded Upon
Try to pick a name that you can expand upon, should you ever need to. Domain names can be changed, to a certain extent. While it’s not always advisable, you have to make sure that if your business grows and expands, your domain name can be adapted to reflect this aspect too.

So, let’s suppose that you have a lawn mowing business and you add the phrase lawn mowing to your domain name. However, if you start offering more services, such as for landscaping or pool cleaning or gardening, in the future, your domain name needs to be expandable to accommodate this.

Does Not Contain Any Symbols or Hyphens
Always make sure that your domain name only has letters. Adding numbers, hyphens or symbols will make it more difficult to remember. It can also become complicated to type in. This also means that someone who isn’t using numbers can have the same domain name as yours.

This can cause competition and also mean that every time someone looks up your website but forgot the symbol or number will end up on your competitor’s website. This is a reason why you need to pick a name that is simple enough to be used as is.

Once you smooth out these fine details, you can start focusing on domain registration and move on to the next step of web hosting. You’ll have to find the right web hosting services, such as the ones offered by JoivHost. We focus on domain registering, web hosting, SSL certificates and more. For more information, get in touch with us today!