How to choose a domain name
Already have a domain name registered? Read this.
A domain name is the ‘address’ you will be using for your website, like google.com. How can you find a great domain name for your business? The best type of domain name has one or more of these following features:
- Easy to remember (e.g. amazon.com or stripe.com)
- Describes your service or speciality/niche (wordsbycornelia.com)
- Has a better chance of being highly ranked in the major search engines (e.g. Google)
Some good options are:
- Your business name (quokkacreative.com)
- Your own name (trishacupra.com)
- The name of a particular product or service you offer (like a book title) (blueowlwebdesign.com)
You can also buy extra domain names and use more than one. For instance, you could buy a domain name that matches your business name for your website. You could then buy a short, memorable domain name and set it up to automatically forward visitors to the main domain name. This is especially helpful when you’re saying the website address out loud, or if it’s mentioned on the radio/podcasts.
TIP: Look for a domain name provider that offers ‘URL forwarding’ as a free feature.
Make a shortlist
Once you’ve decided on a shortlist of potential domain names, you will need to go to a domain name provider like Porkbun to check which ones are actually available. Then you can make your final decision on which one (or multiple ones) you want to register.
TIP: Test your shortlisted domain names out on your friends – or even better, people who are (or could be) your ideal client, before you register any.
Remember that there is also a range of suffixes to choose from, such as .com and .org.
Some suffixes have certain restrictions. People tend to remember a .com name more easily than the others, and those don’t have any restrictions on who can use them. If your business only serves a certain geographic area, look at the suffix for your country (.com.au, .co.nz, .ca, etc)
Quick Action Tip
Now you need to register your domain name(s). This gives you the exclusive right to use that exact domain name, for as long as you pay your registration fees. You can’t buy a domain name outright. It’s more like renting. You essentially ‘rent’ the domain name for a year, and one year later you renew the registration for another year, and so on.
The best value domain name registrar I’ve found is Porkbun, for most domain names. (For .com.au addresses, I use VentraIP. For .co.nz or .nz, I use Crazy Domains.)
Register your domain name at Porkbun
Already have registered your domain with someone else?
There are a few great domain name registrars, and many that are a rip-off. Check how much you’re paying for your registration, and compare it to how much Porkbun charges (or VentraIP for .com.au or Crazy Domains for .co.nz or .nz.)
You may be surprised. If you’re paying too much, you can transfer your website.
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