Domain name registration.
What's in a name? In today's business world: plenty! These days, a domain name becomes a major part of your brand and has a major "say so" in how your business is perceived. Agua Web Design offers some pointers on how to select one, where to buy it, and how you can protect it.
Choose a good domain name.
Choosing a good domain name is one of the most important steps in creating a Web presence for your business. To help you with this important process, Agua Web Design offers the following tips in selecting one:
- Keep it short and sweet. Let's face it - no one wants to type in a name that has 50 characters. Plus, the longer your name, the greater chance that someone will misspell it. And think about your business cards and letterhead - shorter names are easier to format while the longer ones often look weird and out of place.
- Make it memorable. Basically, relate it to your business somehow. One way to go about it is to find a name that describes what you do (e.g. florist.com) - though the more generic names are harder to come by these days. If you are known for your business name or want to develop a brand, you are best off using that name since it is what people will try to use anyway.
- It should be easy to spell. If they can't spell it, then they won't find you. Avoid using alternate spellings (e.g. krazy or phreak), abbreviations, numerals, and alternative characters (like dashes and hyphens) where possible. If you must use numerals, try to also get the spelled out version. This way, nothing will get lost in translation. A good test: say it out loud to several people and ask them to type it in. If they get it wrong or you have to repeat yourself, you should probably keep looking.
- Make sure its a dot-com. Unless you are a non-profit (.org), a government entity (.gov), or an educational institution (.edu), people will automatically default to .com if they are ever unsure. Most users will remember your domain name, but not the extension - so if you are using .info, .net, .us, or any other "alternative" extension, you may be missing some important visitors. What's worse, those people are probably ending up over at the .com version of your domain name - which is really bad if that is your competitor.
Where to buy your domain name.
A domain name can be purchased through an accredited domain registrar. Agua Web Design does not sell domain names, but we recommend two different registrars that do.
www.GoDaddy.com - Why we recommend Go Daddy: It has been around forever, has unbeatable prices, and we have never run into any problems. In business since 1997, Go Daddy has more domains registered than any other registrar. You may get bombarded with offers for other services, but it truly is one of the most affordable registrars out there. The best bang for your buck, no doubt. If you purchase any other service at the same time (we highly recommend ordering "Private Registration," which qualifies), a new .com name only costs you $1.99/year. Who can beat that?
Dotster.com - It has been around since 2000 and have several million domains registered, so its reputation is long standing. The scoop: Although pricing is slightly higher than at Go Daddy, Dotster is reportedly pretty good at helping you locate hard-to-find domain names and extensions.
