 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
How to: Choose a Web Designer Connect to the Internet Select a Domain Name |
4743
Farmstead Dr.| How To: Select a Domain Name |
| Selecting a domain name for your company is the first step towards developing an on-line presence. Many web design firms will handle that step for you, although this is something you can certainly manage yourself. Even if you do not want to do the actual registration of the domain name, it is important that you begin thinking about what you might want to use as soon as possible. Following are some general rules to follow when brainstorming about domain names, along with some web sites you can use to check if your domain name is still available. |
| Easy to Say | Your domain name is going to be, in many cases, another name for your company. All of us have become familiar with the AmazonŽ on-line bookstore giant. But what do we refer to them as? Amazon.com. The same will be true for your domain name. Make sure it is easy for your salespeople to say. Make sure that it is easy to understand. And keep it as short as possible. |
| One or Two Words | Your clients and vendors will remember your domain name the same way they remember your company name. 3MŽ uses 3m.com for their domain name, not minnesotaminingandmanufacturing.com (for obvious reasons)! The best domain names are one word, like business.com, which sold for over a million dollars in 1999. |
| Looks Good on Paper | Like your telephone number and your business address, your domain name will appear on all of your printed literature. People looking at a business card need to be able to decipher easily what your domain name is. Take a fictitious ad agency network. They might decide to choose a short domain name like adagentnet.com, thinking that it describes their business. Saying it is easy, and pretty memorable. Reading and remembering a domain name like this is going to be difficult. |
| It's still available | Once you have decided on a domain name, you can check it's availability at any number of on-line registration services. The original service, networksolutions.com, is a good place to start. You can also check out register.com. |