What are Domain names?

Domain names are aliases for computer locations (IP addresses). The domain name is what we type in to the address bar of our internet browser, to visit our favourite websites.

The IP address 212.58.253.67 may not mean much to you, but www.bbc.co.uk is exactly the same to a computer, but much more human friendly.

Registration and domain Name Servers (DNS)

If you want to register your own domain name feel free. If you want to buy shared hosting I can give you the DNS addresses for my host and you can point your domain at my host.

If you need help registering your domain names I can do this for you at cost + £5 per domain name (inc. pointing the DNS at your choosen host). If you need help with your domain name you registered yourself, I can provide help at my standard hourly rate.

What makes a good domain name?

Easy to remember

If your customers remember your domain name, they will find it easier to visit your website.

Spelt correctly

When you have registered your domain and paid your money, no changes can be made. If users often spell your name wrong, you might want to buy the wrong spelling as well.

Geographic

I mainly deal with customers in Salford, so I included this geographic location in my domain name. If a potential customer search Google for "Salford Website Design" my website does well in the search result ranking.

Hyphenated or not

Many people do not know what the hyphen looks like. The hyphen ( - ) is some times used to separate words in a domain name. I do not like using hyphens, so i did not buy salford-it-help.co.uk. The reason being that I find trying to explain a domain name to someone who does not know the hyphen can be frustrating. 

I do concede that search engines like hyphens to separate keywords in domain names, they treat them as spaces. Also humans can often understand the domain name easier. However, when it comes to remembering to type the hyphen into the address bar humans forget.

Informative to reader

When a person reads your domain name, they should be able to guess what your company does before ever visiting your website.

salfordwebsitedesign.co.uk would have been great for my website, but I thought it was a little too long.

Length

Short domain names can be easier to remember, so most have been taken. Random letters taken from long company name's initial letters can be difficult to remember.

Long domain names can give lots of information to the reader. They are also most likely to be spelt incorrectly or misremembered.

Keyword Rich

If you are a shoe shop, having "Shoe" in your domain name is helpful for search results. If you are a chair hire company, having "chair" and "hire" in your domain name is great.

Top Level

If you are a company in the United Kingdom you may want a .co.uk top level domain. Google know where the searcher is located and will give the searcher local results first. The .com top level domain sounds more fluid when spoken aloud, but is not associated with a specific country. If you choose a .com domain it is best to inform Google what country you are targeting.