Domain Names - What's in a Name?
Depending on what you aim for, your domain name must reflect that. Are you thinking of setting up a personal website? A business website? A forum? A chat room? A blog? Who will be visiting that site? Friends and family?
Let's consider the personal website first. Is your website directed towards friends and family? Or are you wanting to open yourself up to the world? Will your site be a forum? A blog? A photo album? Or a bit of each?
In this case, you might want to consider using your name. Your full name. Your family name. Or a word, or set of words, that reflect who you are or where you come from. If your objective is to create, for example, a club for your friends and family, consider a catchy name that reflects your group.
Take this into account - keep it easy to remember. If your name is hard to spell, for example, consider a nickname only. Alternatively, make use of a hyphen. So, if your name is Georgie Stanislovasticomatica, and if you insist on using your full name, then www.georgie-stanislovasticomatica.com might make it slightly easier to remember. Only just! A good bet for you, however, might be www.georgie.com, though, you might find that domain name is not available. Think of a nickname that everyone knows you by - how about www.stani.com, or www.the-georgie-blog.com.
Now, let's consider a business name. Even if you are running your online business from the little back room next to the garage bathroom, you must give your potential clients the notion that your business is one to take seriously. The name of your domain does not need to mention the product you are selling, though that is indeed an option to consider. The basis of any business is its branding, and a brand-name must be easy to remember. Think "Yahoo" or "Google" - if you didn't know better, how would you ever link such names to an ebusiness? Get the drift? Think catchy. Think basic. But keep within the basis of your online business. A few examples to get you thinking - www.prettypants.com might work well for a lingerie business. Its catchy and it is related to your product. The www.bums.com domain is also related and is certainly easy to remember, but may not work too well for your branding if you sell haute-couture, expensive lingerie that targets a high-class, classical audience.
Remember too that, like you, there are a thousand others today looking for that catchy name. You might have a hard time finding the perfect name because it may well be taken. If you wish to buy a domain name called www.apple.com you won't get lucky because it is taken. So how about www.two-apples.com?
In conclusion, your imagination is what is needed. On a piece of paper, consider who your target-market is and what your product is. Then work on a few names. As I say, your domain name does not need to say it all about your business. It needs to be easy to remember. But there are limitations to consider in order to protect your overall branding.
