Do I Need A Domain For A Website
Technically, visitors can visit your website using its IP address. However, since it consists of a string of numbers, it is hard to remember. A domain helps make a website more accessible to internet users.
A domain is also essential for branding and search engine optimization . Even though users can still find your website without a domain name, it is a crucial part of a site.
Check To See If Its Available Across Social Channels
Another pro tip for choosing a business domain name is to think about how youâll use it online, but beyond just a website.
If you want to have a social media presence, with a Twitter handle, Instagram account, or Pinterest account, check to see if your websiteâs domain name is available across social handles before you lock it in and purchase it.
Having your social media accounts connected to your main business domain name and brand will help facilitate the âbrandabilityâ and recognizability we keep bringing up.
While the complete phrase in your domain name might not be fully available for every type of social handle out there, you might be able to tweak it slightly so that it remains connected to the general brand and is recognizable.
Why Should You Care About Registering A Domain Name
Domain names are the online address of your website. If you want to be found online, it is essential to register your domain name and set up a website. Registering your domain name minimising the risk of other businesses passing themselves off as you online and helps you protect your brand reputation.
There are several other benefits to registering a domain name for your company’s website. The most obvious advantage of having a domain name is that it commands trust with potential customers. When they see that your business has its own website, they will be more inclined to do business with you.
Domain names tell your potential customers that you’re serious about your business and will help you reach more customers. With a customized, memorable domain name, people will remember who you are and be more likely to visit your site.
Another benefit of registering a domain name is improved SEO. While your domain name isn’t a direct ranking factor, a good domain name can positively affect your site’s SEO .
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When Your Business Name And Domain Name Should Not Match
Listed below are situations where matching your domain name and business name are not recommended.
- Your company name is long or contains foreign words
- Your company name is difficult to remember, spell and pronounce
- Your business name is easily confused with other companies
- Your business is built around a brand name that is different than your legal company name
- You want to promote specific products or market topics keywords
FYI: If you want to change the name on an existing website it IS possible. Read my article showing you the steps on how to switch your domain name on all popular platforms such as Bluehost, GoDaddy, Shopify, Wix and Squarespace.
Wondering if your LLC name has to match your business name?Read my answer complete with tips on LLC names and links to all 50 States LLC name search lookups
Choose The Right Domain Extension
When picking the extension or TLD for your domain name, .com is still the best choice unless you have a reason to choose something else. Roughly 43% of all domains have a .com extension, making it what people expect to see the most.
While Google confirms that your choice of TLD will not impact rankings, it does affect consumer perception. Many people view other TLDs as less trustworthy.
That said, .net or .org extensions are not uncommon, so they can be good secondary options if you find the perfect name and the coveted .com isnt available.
But if you do decide to go with an extension other than a .com, make sure you take a look at what type of website is currently on the .com extension. Someone is bound to go there accidentally while looking for your brand. If the site holds fishy or offensive content, you might want to steer clear of that name altogether.
Finally, avoid those niche domain name extensions like .space, .club, .pizza, unless you really think theyll enhance your brand.
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Naming Your Business: Are Domain Name Extensions Important
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A domain name is the first perception of your company, your credibility and your brand in todays online world. Cheap names usually mean cheaper brands. Whether this holds true in your business, customers will perceive your domain name accordingly.
Domains with a .com, .org or .net extension are commonly referred to as the best top-level domains names on the web. They are overlooked in favor of cheaper or more available names and extensions. TLD names, commonly referred to as gTLD , are generally the better names to use, with .com, of course, being the most used, recognized and valuable.
We should not overlook ccTLDs , either, because these can also make sense for certain geo-based brands. If youre unfamiliar with ccTLDs, theyre country-specific domain names like .io , .mx , .eu and .ca .
The question becomes: Does it really make a difference which one you buy for your company? And does a gTLD or ccTLD hold as much equity and long-term value as an exact-match gTLD? We’ll find out in this article.
What You Need To Consider When Naming Your Brand
The most valuable type of domain name that you can purchase is an exact-match domain name with a .com extension. Below is a list of tips that can help you make a great decision when thinking about naming your business and acquiring a domain name for it.
Why You Always Want To Buy .com
How To Choose The Perfect Domain Name
The first thing to consider is that, as a business or individual, youre not restricted to registering just one domain name. You can register as many different domain names as you need to properly organise and market your business. You can also register domain names that you never use, just to prevent other people using them, but you will have to keep paying for all of those domains.
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Checklist: How To Pick The Right Domain Name
Your domain name is your identity on the web. Its extremely important to get it right. Dedicate time to ensuring you pick the best name for your business. For many startups, a company name is dictated based on whether a .com domain is available for it. This should be one of your first ports of call when deciding on a business name. Halt any branding processes until youve checked there is a domain available for it.
Here are some other considerations when selecting your domain name:
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Depending on the type of company you own, you could consider adding a bit more detail into your domain name to assist search engine optimisation and avoid any domain name clashes with other businesses.
Make it easy for customers to remember/type your domain name. Avoid any confusion by using the correct words rather than slang. For example, express instead of xpress.
The longer your domain, the harder it is to remember and the more opportunity for mistyping.
Immediately improve your SEO with a keyword-friendly domain name. Consider the type of keywords your customers will be using to find your business. Could you include them in your domain? For example:
- www.bike-repair.com
- www.experiencedays.co.uk
- www.daysoutwiththekids.co.uk
If your business is based in one specific area, consider using its location in your domain name to target local web traffic. For example:
- www.fistralbeachsurfschool.co.uk
- www.blushbeautyofmayfield.com
How Long Does My Domain Name Registration Last How Do I Renew My Domain
How long your domain registration lasts can vary depending on the domain you purchase. Many domain name registrars will allow customers to register domains for 10 years at a time, but typically customers will register domains for one to three years.If you want to extend your registration, its easy to renew your domain with GoDaddy. You can choose to manually renew or set up auto-renewal, so you ensure it stays registered to you.
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Make Sure Its Easy To Type
Think of some of the most popular websites in the world. What comes to mind?
Google, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Yahoo, CNN
One big thing they have in common is that theyre all easy to spell.
Your visitors should be able to type your domain name without a problem. If you have to explain the spelling more than once for it to be understood, its too complicated!
The last thing you want is for the potential visitors to mistype your domain and end up on a different website!
Heres an easy way to test this
Tell 10 people your potential domain name and ask them to spell it. If more than a few people struggle to spell it, you need to simplify it.
Have An Authoritative Email Address
Buying a domain isn’t just about websitesyou can also use them for email addresses. This means, instead of an address that ends with gmail.com or outlook.com, email addresses can end with a domain owned by your company.
You can read about , but it boils down to a few key points.
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Branding. Emails look like they’re coming from your company, not from a free email service. This looks more professional.
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Control. You can give employees an address ending with @companyname.com, which you can take control of should they leave the company.
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Flexibility. You can point your domain to any email service, meaning you can switch email providers without having to inform all of your customers about a new email address.
Need an email host? Check out our list of .
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Check For Trademark Infringement
Both major and minor brands alike take issue with others using their trademarked names. Even if youve just made an innocent mistake, the legal hassle involved in a lawsuit and having to rearrange your web presence could be costly.
You can avoid these situations by using a trademark lookup tool before you finalize your choice.
What Is A Website
A website lives on a domain, and its the collection of files and coding language in the backend that produces a front-end experience for internet users.
In other words, your website is what a user sees when they visit your domain name or specific URLs on your domain.
The difference between a website and domain
Brands often use their website and domain in the same call-to-action Visit our website at XYZ.com! This kind of marketing communication might explain why so many people confuse the terms website and domain.
The domain is the series of characters someone puts into their web browser to access your website, which is the visual result once they visit the domain. The website provides the user experience once someone visits your domain.
Conceptually, you can think of a domain like your home address and the website as the physical home. The address is how someone finds your home, but the style, size and layout of your home might vary drastically from one house to the next.
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Tips For Choosing The Perfect Domain Name
What’s in a name? When it comes to your brand, a lot.
Choosing the right domain name for your company is so important ultimately, it’s how your audience will find and remember you.
A custom domain will help your website stand out from the crowd and possibly even boost your SEO. But with over 360 million domain names registered, it can be hard to find one that is unique.
If you are having trouble brainstorming or finding that all of your domain name ideas are already in use, you’re not alone. Luckily, there are several steps you can take to help craft the best domain name for your business or blog.
Domain Hosting Is Not Web Hosting
It is easy to confuse domain hosting with web hosting . Its important to remember that domain hosting is not web hosting. The two are related of course, but a web hosting server is another specialised type of computer server. It is true that most web hosting packages available, including those available from aento, may include domain hosting as part of the fee. There is nothing to stop you using different companies for domain hosting and web hosting. You can also change your web hosting at any time but leave your domain hosting untouched and vice versa.
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How To Get A Free Domain With Your Web Hosting
Some web hosts offer a free domain name when you sign up for a hosting plan. You may have to pay for renewal at the end of the first year, but its not typically expensive. You also wont have to worry about migrating your domain if you register it through your hosting provider.
At DreamHost, we offer a free domain name when you sign up for one of our Shared or DreamPress hosting plans. Once youve selected the right option for you, just click on Register a new domain.
Youll be prompted to search for your desired domain name. Simply add your domain to your cart and complete the checkout process!
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Domain Names Based On Your Business Name
Most businesses would want to try and find a domain name that matches quite closely their company name. This is where you may encounter your first problem. There are probably a whole lot of businesses in your country with the same or similar names. In this case, you may well find that your preferred domain name is already registered to another business.
If youre just starting a business and still in process of choosing a company name, we would recommend searching for a domain name be part of your decision making process. In other words, find a great domain name and base your company name on that, rather than the other way around. Online domain name search tools such as ours make it easy to quickly search for available and alternative domain names across multiple TLDs.
If you already have an established business and really need to use your existing company name, you have two options.
The second option is to use a more specialised TLD. Referring to the above example, aento accountants could choose to use the .accountants TLD and find the domain name of aento.accountants is available, albeit at significantly increased cost.
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