Websites 2: Domains

In this series of lessons I am attempting to give you an overview on all things websites without getting tied into anything too technical that will likely change. Let’s cover domains.

What’s In A Name?

Shakespeare once wrote “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” but when it comes to domain names there is a small line between what works and what doesn’t. Today more companies are named after what domain is available than the other way around and although you would think there are limitless options, finding the right domain is tricky. Many people buy up domain names in the hope that they would become valuable, that if they own marketing.com or some such, a company would be bound to buy it off them. I doubt anyone has ever gotten rich from a domain. In most cases there is a workaround if you look hard enough, so if the domain of your dreams is not available, do some digging. Oh and don’t forget you need to see if your social media names are available too.

The Hierarchy Of Domains

.COM is still the original and best name for any given domain, followed by the domain that is valid for your county (in jolly old England .CO.UK for example) there are a number of different domains under this .BIZ for example but these just don’t have the legitimacy of the originals. A few years ago they released a number of different domains aimed at more niche industries .VIDEO for example. I think they were hoping this would spark a new land rush as people bought every possible associated domain to their company, but it never really took off.

Buy Your Own Domain

You might not be a technical person, but I would heavily advise anyone reading to buy their own domain. Don’t leave it to the developers, or the IT guy or whatever. You do that yourself. The reason is obvious but it’s a story I’ve seen unfold so many times its not even funny. One day your IT developer goes somewhere else, forgets to pay the fee and you lose your domain. You put those annoying domain updates into the trash and then miss the one where they tell you your domain is due to run out, and you lose your domain.

Changing Domains

Last but not least, just a quick note about chopping and changing your domain. This is much the same as changing your company name, when you do so you loose all the goodwill and search engine rankings that you will have built up, so don’t go changing too quickly!