Business

Things to Avoid When Selecting a Domain Name

It can be difficult to find a domain name that is best for your requirements that remains available. There are many already registered domain names so it is possible to have the name you want to be taken by a different website. So there can be some compromises you will have to do when choosing a domain name. However, there is a certain guideline to follow when creating a domain name.

You can search online for domain name recommendations to get an idea of where to start. There may be similar websites that sell similar products or services. You can look for inspiration from that. Sometimes, when the domain name you want is taken, there is a tendency to add a hyphen to the name to still use the name that you want. But there are some problems that come with using hyphens in your domain name.      A hyphen basically adds another word to your domain. You will have to say dash in between words which can make it sound odd. And it is hard to remember as well. Most people will not remember to type in a hyphen when looking for the domain name and this will simply direct traffic to the site that already has the name without hyphens. Therefore, it is best to avoid this to get rid of any confusion.

Just like hyphens, numbers can make domain names confusing. When you say the domain name out loud, a person hearing it will not be able to understand whether to type the digit or type the word for the number. So this is a point of confusion. But if you need to include a number in the domain name, you have to register both versions of the name; this includes the version with the digit and the spelt out word. You can select one domain name and the other domain can be re-directed to this. This way, no matter how people type in the name, they will still find your site. This precaution can be taken mostly when single digits are used in the name. If you are using a long number like 24, people are less likely to spell it out so you can assume they will type in 24 in digits. So you don’t necessarily need to register two domain names for double or more digits. It is illegal to use trademarks in your domain name as you can end up losing your domain name in the end. There are websites that can help you search for registered trademarks to avoid doing this. You can do this before you register your domain name.

Make sure that the domain name is easy to spell. Simple names are best to make sure that people remember it and understand how to spell it. There are some domain names that are registered without the vowels. While this can create a trendy name, it can be a bit confusing for somebody to find the site or for you to tell somebody about the name of the site. There are also homophones which are words that sound similar but have different definitions. One such example is break and brake. So you need to be clear about which word you are referring to.

Leen Schroeder
the authorLeen Schroeder