What If I Want More Than One Website
Depending on the nature of your business, should you require an additional website for a period of time, you can redirect its domain to your primary website when you no longer need it. For example, www.rugby.com points to www.ralphlauren.com. An odd pairing on the face of it but after a quick Google hunt, it seems that the fashion brand launched Rugby Ralph Lauren in 2004 under the management of its parent company, Polo Ralph Lauren. In 2008, merchandise was available on www.rugby.com but since retiring the brand in 2013, this domain redirects to the main Ralph Lauren website. A clever tactic to ensure any customer traffic isnt lost .
Why Do I Have An Onmicrosoftcom Domain
Microsoft 365 creates a domain for you, like contoso.onmicrosoft.com, when you sign up with the service. The user ID that you create when you sign up includes the domain, like .
If you want to have your email look like :buy the domain or just follow the steps in Add your users and domain to Microsoft 365 if you own it already.
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You can’t rename the onmicrosoft domain after sign-up. For example, if the initial domain you chose was fourthcoffee.onmicrosoft.com, you can’t change it to be fabrikam.onmicrosoft.com. To use a different onmicrosoft.com domain, you’d have to start a new subscription with Microsoft 365.
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You can’t rename your team site URL. Your team site URL is based on your onmicrosoft.com domain name. Unfortunately, because of the way SharePoint Online architecture works, you can’t rename the team site.
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You can’t remove your onmicrosoft domain. Microsoft 365 needs to keep it around because it’s used behind the scenes for your subscription. But you don’t have to use the domain yourself after you’ve added a custom domain.
You can keep using the initial onmicrosoft.com domain even after you add your domain. It still works for email and other services, so it’s your choice.
Getting Your Domain Name
You can always go straight to a Domain Name Registrar and get your domain name there. They usually charge an annual fee that works out to $1 or $2 a month. But it can be even easier: WordPress.com, Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, and all the rest will let you set up a website up under your own domain with the cost included into your monthly hosting fee. If you already have a domain name theyll tell you how to make sure that it points to your new site. If youre using a more traditional hosting company like GoDaddy or Bluehost, they offer the same services.
Note that Facebook, LinkedIn, and Etsy dont allow you to customize the domain name of their business pages. You can still register your domain and have it redirect to your page, but all your pages will still live on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Etsy and your domain name wont get any SEO points.
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Make It Easy For Customers To Find You
People have short memoriesthey aren’t going to remember a long web address. Try telling someone your company’s website is at yourbusiness.wix.com and you might have to explain that, yes, there’s a dot in the middle and, yes, Wix is spelled W-I-X. It’s an extra step you’ll have to take every time someone asks what your website is. Not to mention it’s not as pretty on a business card.
Buy a domain name, though, and you don’t have this problem. You can just tell people to head to yourbusiness.com, and you’re done. That alone is worth so much more than $15 a year.
Of course, buying a domain isn’t all you need to have a website the domain name is just the address. You’ll also need to buy web hosting so that your website can live on a computer somewhere, and a web host will end up costing you upwards of $100 a year. But here’s the catch: not everyone who runs a business has a website. You might only have a Facebook Page or Google Maps listing. Even if that’s the case, you should still get a domain name.
In the short term, this gives people an easy way to find your profile on those services. You can also use the domain name for a future website, if you think you might build one later. Domains are cheap, and redirects are easy to set up. Just buy the domain name, then look for the “Forward” option offered by your domain name service.
Dont Believe That Boring Is Brandable
And why will there always be another domain name? Because the domain name should always follow the successful business. Sure, you have to have something to start out with but it doesnt have to be perfect. And it doesnt even need to make sense. Why?
Because first, boring domain names are just that boring. Who wants to get books from bookstore.com or search the Internet at searchengine.com or buy jackets from wintercoats.com.
No! We buy books from Amazon, search the Internet at Google, and buy jackets from TheNorthFace.com.
Thats because domain names are really memory hooks if a customer knows your business, then theyll know your domain name .
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Youve Got A Domain Namenow What
Once youve got your domain name, its time to figure out where to host your website, what content and features it should have, and who is going to build it. Ready to start? dbdc is here to help you get your business online, or if you already are, make sure your website is doing everything it should to keep your business growing. Contact dbdc for a private consultation today.
Short And To The Point
As you type or write a few domain names out, read them out loud. How does it sound? Is it a mouthful or easy to say? If its easy to say, then its easy to remember.
A catchy domain name will be shared. It should also be easy to spell and without hyphens or other special characters. Its difficult to remember where those fall into a domain name.
Additionally, the domain name should be short and to the point. A short URL is appealing and, again, easy to remember. It looks more professional on business cards. Its also easier to manually type into the browser.
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A Domain Name Has Authority
Hosting your content on a third party blogging or social media platform can seem unprofessional, and undermine your efforts to build a business or professional identity. Since these hosted platforms are often used for personal blogs and other kinds of informal sharing, it can be harder to establish your site as a trustworthy, authoritative source in your niche. Thats where domain name registration comes in. Your own domain name can let potential customers and clients know that youre a legitimate business with long term plans.
Your Domain Name Sets User Expectations
Users on the internet will have certain expectations once they stumble upon your domain name, thus you need to make sure that those expectations are met in the most beneficial way for you and your business. The right domain name will make your brand more popular. If it matches the company name, it strongly reinforces your brand, making it much easier for clients to remember. Additionally, it will be a natural way to attract more visitors because people will share it with their friends.
We are more than happy to share some knowledge and help you in making the right decision when choosing the perfect domain name that would fit your online presence just the way you desire. Here are our top 3 tips on the matter.
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How To Check If The Domain Name Has Been Taken
Simply enter the domain you want into your browser search bar and see what comes up, or use a domain registrars search tool such as GoDaddy, Instant Domain Search or Name.com.
You can drill down further into types of domain lookup but sites like GoDaddy are the most useful as they offer a broker service, contacting the owner of the domain to see if theyd consider selling it:
You have three options if the domain you want is taken:
If youre not able to obtain the domain name, you have no option but to think of a new name.
Which To Decide First Your Business Name Or Domain Name
Naming a new business is hard enough, without having to decide and register a domain name also! I recommend that small business owners first decide on their business or domain name as such:
- If you sell Business to Consumer, decide on your domain name first, because there is a lot of online competition and you want to stand out in search engine results.
- If your company is brick and mortar, decide on your company name first. Domain name options for restaurants and services are adding your geographic location into your URL but not your company name. An example of Vitos Pizzeria and VitoPizzeriaNYC.com .
- If your business is online-based, first decide on your domain name since that will be the name your customers will associate with your brand.
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Check If Your Domain Name Is Available
To find out if your proposed domain name is available, use our Business name check tool. You can also use the tool to check if your business name is available.
Note that a domain name doesnt give you protection of that name. It simply secures you the url. You should always register your business name first and consider protecting it with a trade mark. If you use a business name or domain name that someone else has already trademarked, you could face legal action.
Whats The Need For A Domain Name If Selling Only Via Social Media
If you only have a social media store, your domain address looks something like this:
www.facebook.com/yourstore or
www.instagram.com/yourstore
Not only do such web addresses lack brand recall but theyre also not easy to remember or easy to speak.
Having a sophisticated web address for your business is a crucial aspect of branding. Be it business cards, emails, flyers, ad campaigns, or even dreamy billboards you need a domain name.
All you need to do is to buy a domain name from your favorite registrar and forward it to your social media store, and voila! You just created the first, most important part of your online identity. Now, when users click on your domain name, they will be taken to your social media store.
The best part is that now there are hundreds of possible domain options available, you can even use your domain name to define who you are. For example:
www.facebook.com/lilysvintagestore can be www.lilysvintage.store
www.instagram.com/popcolorshade can be www.popcolorshade.store
Not only does the domain name give you a personalized brand identity but the .STORE at the end also indicates what your business is all about. Now, potential shoppers know that youre selling something even before they click on your web address!
Its time then that your social media store got its very own domain name!
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Change The Name Slightly
A domain name is reported as not available only if the exact name is already taken. For instance, if an availability search tells you that madprophet.com is already taken, you may find that “mad-prophet.com” or “madprophets.com” is available. If you are not wed to the exact form of your first proposed domain name, you can experiment with minor variations until you find an acceptable name that is available. But read the warning just below for reasons to use caution when taking this approach.
Slight Changes to a Name Can Spell Trouble
The fact that a slightly different name is available, or that a name is not available as .com, but is available as .net, .biz, .info or .org, doesn’t necessarily mean that you can or should use it. Using a domain name very similar to an existing one may result in trademark infringement — the violation of someone’s trademark rights. If you infringe someone’s trademark, a court might order you to stop using the name and pay money damages to the other domain name owner. For more, see Avoid Trademark Infringement When You Choose a Domain Name.
Why Your Domain Names Matter
The first domain name was registered more than 30 years ago. Since then, over 330 million domains have come into circulation. With that kind of competition, choosing the right domain name for your business is imperative.
A memorable domain name makes all the difference when it comes to creating a successful online presence. In simplest terms, a domain name gives people an easy-to-remember name and address for your website.
Long, complicated domain names are hard to manage and easy to forget. In addition, there are many reasons to spend time crafting your domain name.
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Set Up Your Hosting And Website
If you do not have a web host, you can let the registrar park your domain name at a temporary website specially set up for you. This lets you secure your domain name before it’s too late and take your time setting up other aspects of your website.
After registering your domain name, learn about building your website from a number of sources. The most popular option for building a website is using a self-hosted WordPress blog. Most web hosting companies support WordPress.
Your registrar, web hosting company and the World Wide Web should offer ample documentation and ideas for you. Now that you’ve read through the domain name registration process, get started as soon as possible to get the domain name you deserve!
Getting your website up and running is just the start. Once you’re live you’ll want to focus on the important things like getting website traffic, building your email subscriber list, and converting visitors into sales.
How Do You Get A Business Domain Name
To get a business domain name, you must first decide the right domain name for your business and then purchase it from a domain name registrar. You can often purchase a domain from your web hosting company, as oftentimes, a website builder technology doubles as a domain name registrar. In fact, the initial domain-registration process and website hosting steps often take place simultaneously when you start your business website. In other words, many companies through which you can register your domain double as web hosting companies.
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