You can't have a website without a domain name, even if that domain name is one given to you by your website host. Any professional knows that a great domain name is a main consideration when building a website. Don't settle for the freebie that came along with the hosting package - choose one that's easy to remember and that reflects your business.
1. Brainstorm: Think of five words or phrases that best reflect your website goal, whether you're setting up ecommerce web hosting or simply want to write a blog about your life. Put together these words (which can contain your business name), add prefixes, play with suffixes, and jot down your favorite domain name ideas.
2. Choose a Unique Domain: Once you have a few ideas, search on Google to see if anyone else has similar domain names. If you want DomainName.com and somebody's already setup DomainName.net, these two are too close for comfort - you'll want something more unique that can't be confused with what's already out there.
3. Choose a Dot Com: If you want a high quality website, you have to go with a high quality domain name. Anything .net or .biz won't be taken seriously, then you definitely want a .com. You can have those other domain names, but your main one should always be a .com.
4. Simplify: Your domain name should be easy to remember and simple to type. There shouldn't be any characters, like underscores or hyphens, and the spelling should be basic. Some people even believe that certain letters are easier to type than others ("c" and "p," for example). Plus, your domain name should be easy to remember. Something catchy is great, but a person's name (unless they're a celebrity) isn't a great idea. Lastly, keep your domain name as short as possible.
5. Make it Obvious: Unless you're a wildly popular brand, like Monster.com, your domain name should communicate what your company is about. Otherwise, your business is going to need a lot of extra branding.
6. Make it Legal: Copyright infringement is a big deal. Before you pick a business name and register a domain, check out Copyright.gov to make sure you're not stepping on anybody's toes.
Don't cut corners when it comes to your domain name - it's one of the things that you won't want to change once your website traffic starts to climb.
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