Having a website is essential to any business that wants to succeed in this technology age. Having a good domain is essential to having a good website and is the first thing that must be addressed when looking to set up a website for your business. Your domain name has an important role it plays for making people find, think about, remember, share or search for your website. Your domain name is what conditions their mind on what to expect from your website even before they visit it. This is why your domain name must be fully representative of your brand.
Coming up with a good name
To come up with a good domain name, here are two things to consider. Do you want your domain name to be discoverable or brandable?
- Discoverable domain names are descriptive in nature and they work to your advantage when for visitors who do not know the exact name of your website but are imputing search parameters that are in your domain name into their search engine. For example if someone is searching for bag makers in Wellington and your domain name is wellingtonbagmaker.nz, your website will likely be one of the first in the search engine results.
- Brandable domain names are unique names that communicate a specific identity and it is unlikely that there will be many domain names similar to it. For example a domain name like quixyammer.com does not tell you anything about what the website is about but the name is unique and is likely to pique the interest of anyone who sees it. It is also easier for people to remember when you run marketing campaigns that will include regular mentions of the website.
Choosing a domain extension
When you choose the domain, you have only completed the first part of choosing the domain name. A domain extension is the other part of your website address. In May 2015 new top-level domains (tLDs) were made available to the general public. Among them are the .design and .graphic extensions. For people in the design business when doing your domain names, you should consider using these extensions for your business.
Advantages of choosing a .graphics or .design extension
- Availability: It is not certain that you will find free a .com extension for your domain especially if it contains commonly used words. With these extensions, you are likely to find that the extension has not been taken up yet. It is more likely that topdesign.graphic is available than it is that topdesign.com or topdesign.net will be available.
- It catches the attention of anyone who sees it. While steadily gaining popularity, these new tLDs are not yet mainstream or common enough that people have gotten used to them. A website with a .graphic or .design extension is sure to catch people’s interests.
- People are quick to choose you as they already know what to expect when you use such a domain. They already know that you are likely offering design and graphic services. This way they are quick to choose your site out of other options that may not be so representative.
- It is easily understood. No one needs to explain what design and graphics mean to anyone who can speak English so people who see your domain name do not have to think long about what exactly you are offering
- It is easily remembered. Sometimes there is that confusion with clients about whether the website they are looking for has a .com or .net extension or another type entirely. With a .graphics or design extension, it is unlikely that they will forget your domain name.
