On the Naming of Sites
Last Thursday I introduced a sequence about how to manage your website designer or consultant as they help you develop your site. An early decision, in any new relationship with a designer, is the naming of sites.
So, you know what you want from your new web presence and you’re planning to set up a website? Don’t let your designer name the site – it is your decision.
Your aim is to choose a domain name, the address visitors type into their browser to find your site.
So, here are some things to consider:
- Your site can be named in a way that clearly states what you offer, eg forumhousecommunityforum.org might be a good name for Forum House Community Forum. That is if this domain name is available. This is known as a literal name.
- You can equally choose a brand name. This creates an impression but does not give much away about your offer, eg Panthers21, where “Panthers” has local significance around Forum House and 21 might be from the postcode. Again check the domain name is available.
- Whatever you choose, use conventional spelling. Panferz21 might make sense locally but what will people write if you say it? It’s bad enough having to say “forumhousecommunityforum is all one word in lower case” without having to spell it out as well! Whilst people are aware of this type of thing, there is still plenty of scope for confusion – minimise it!
- Keep it short! If you go for my example for Forum House, why not simply forumhouse.com? It saves typing, is easier to remember and maybe more likely to appear in search results. That is assuming the domain name is available.
- Make sure when you scrunch word together you don’t inadvertently create something hilarious or offensive.
- You also need to think about your domain extension. If you are trading .com is probably best, if not try .org. If you are in the uk you might consider adding .uk to the end, thus .org.uk ! There are other options but most people won’t think to try them if they forget the extension. And some are a bit iffy for search engines.
- Your domain name will help people search for the site when they know its name. Don’t confuse your domain name with the keywords you use for search engine optimisation, these are the words people use when they don’t know your domain name, to find your site. Another topic altogether!
Don’t forget you hire domain names and pay a fee every year. They’re not terrifically expensive, usually under £15 and the extensions make a bit of a difference. And don’t forget to renew it – if you don’t want to lose your site!
Website domain name disasters – any offers? Examples of where things have gone wrong, that we can learn from might be helpful.