In Need of a WordPress Website For Your Business? Consider The Domain Name First – Here Are 8 Good Practices in 2023
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In so many articles our Enterprise WordPress Agency for Development has thoroughly explained why owning a website is absolutely crucial for your business, especially in today’s business landscape. And while this remains to be true, there’s also another important aspect of business online establishment we wish to focus on today – we’re referring to choosing the business domain name consciously and carefully.
The domain name is in some cases the very first detail of your business people stumble upon. It has the power to strongly influence the crowd and give them a good idea in advance in terms of what the business is all about and whether it’s credible, reliable and worth visiting. So it wouldn’t be an overestimation for us to tell you that the domain name choice has the power to skyrocket your business or doom it right from the start.
Just coming up with a domain name that sounds good to you is by all means not enough in terms of the best and most adequate choice – any business should dive deeper into the subject and try its best when it comes to sticking to an option or two. Usually, the whole process requires thorough research and careful discovery – luckily, our Enterprise WordPress Agency for Development is here for you today to shed some light on the domain subject, as well as offer 8 good practices on name searching.
Let’s get down to it!
First, Let’s Address the Subject More Precisely – Why Does the Domain Name Matter So Much?
What exactly is the domain name?
A domain is the web address – essentially, it’s the URL people would type in their browsers in order to access your website. That said, the domain name must truthfully represent what the website is all about – research shows that people enter a specific website with a specific expectation based on the domain name. This further proves why picking the right name is absolutely crucial for the website’s overall success (and that of the business also). These days a lot of businesses operate (mainly) online, which means that their web address could potentially attract or dispel potential customers.
The domain name should be by all means relevant and up-to-date, based on the current trends. What’s more, the best option is for the business’s name and the domain name to be the same – imagine everyone’s confusion if your enterprise is called X only for its online platform to be named Y. This type of inconsistency won’t do your business justice – at some point, people won’t consider them both to represent the same brand which therefore leads to decrease in credibility and overall reliability. It also decreases the brand’s exclusivity.
Of course, outside of current trends, there are already established evergreen dos and don’ts when it comes to choosing the proper domain name:
- Make sure your domain name is the same as the brand’s name;
- Stick to options that are easy to remember – you don’t want any domains that are too long or too complicated;
- If you don’t have an established brand but still want a website (for example dedicating your time and efforts to a personal blog), make sure the domain represents the general idea and overall intent of the content you are about to put out there;
- Try your best to avoid any specific symbols, hyphens and numbers in your domain since it may be difficult for people to get it right or could possibly consider it a scam;
- Make sure your domain name idea isn’t already connected to another brand or already existing website to avoid misunderstanding and general confusion;
Once our Enterprise WordPress Agency for Development has covered all the no-brainers when it comes to domain name usage, let’s get even more specific and detailed – down below we’re going to discuss 8 very good practices when it comes to picking the proper domain name for your future website. Make sure you check our listicle before hurrying up and registering just about whatever pops up in your head.
8 Good and Relevant Practices on Choosing The Right Domain Name in 2023
.com Is Still Relevant and It Serves As Some of Your Best Options
.com is still the world’s most popular domain extension and it has every reason for that – it’s one of the most credible, universal and international domain extensions one could opt for. Certainly, there are numerous new domain extensions that continue to get more specific and niche-centered – while that’s an incredible opportunity in some cases, going with a domain extension that’s still not popular enough might make your website seem sketchy or untrustworthy. That said, when uncertain, you better stick to the classics – having a .com website will certainly bring credibility and trustworthiness to your brand.
For Blogs or Personal Branding of Any Sort, a Very Good Option Is the .me Extension
Aside from .com, there is another domain extension that managed to gain immense popularity and credibility in the field of personal branding – we are referring to the .me extension.
These days a lot of people go for personal branding – be it entrepreneurs, business executives, bloggers or freelancers in virtually every business niche. Having your own established online place is a great way for your customers (both current and potential) to get to know you better, your business, your skills, your expertise and pretty much who you are as an individual. That said, opting for the domain extension .me is a great opportunity to add yet another layer of trustworthiness and get close to your crowd.
Consider Adding a Keyword to the Domain Name
What’s better than coming up with a great domain name? Adding a relevant keyword in it, of course. When building up your business, one of the very first things you need to do is conduct thorough research online – what is the niche it’s going to be positioned in? And then again, having in mind the niche, what are the keywords mainly associated with it? Let’s say your business’s focus is flower arrangements – perhaps some of the most suitable keywords related to this business niche are “flowers”, “bouquet”, “fresh flowers”, “floral”, “florals”, “petals” and all things bloom-related. Considering featuring some of those in the domain name will easily showcase what the business is all about even before accessing the website.
When Thinking About Your Web Address, Try Avoiding Generic Terms and Focus on Brand-Like Equivalents
Okay, so, here’s the thing – our Enterprise WordPress Agency for Development is reminding you that the more generic a business’s name is, the harder it will be for people to remember it. When searching for the best equivalents, а good practice is to focus on names that already sound like brand names. This will make it tremendously easier for your marketing team to establish a place for your enterprise on the market once it’s up and running.
Uniqueness is yet another trait you’d wish your brand name and web address to be associated with. Make it stand out – it needs to be unique, straight to the point and memorable enough so people can quickly begin to connect the name with a specific brand in their minds.
Double Letters, Hyphens, Odd Symbols… Anything That Could Confuse Customers Should Go
Imagine your domain name is filled with hyphens and odd symbols – do you possibly expect your potential customers to be able to remember it correctly so they could get back to it at any time later on? Sticking to short words and brand names is the best possible course of action – if you’re quick enough to buy the domain before anyone else, that is.
The thing with double letters is a slightly different story – while there are words where the last letter of the first word is the same as the first letter of the second word, combined together would increase the chances of typos and misinterpretations. Most of the time, people are quick to type in the web address in the browser, overlooking whether there are mistakes of any sort. The bottom line is that you need to make your website as easily accessible and as memorable as possible.
If Your Main Business Focus Is On Your Homeland, Opting for Region-Specific Domain Extension Is Welcome
Of course, international businesses need to go for international and overall popular domain extensions such as .com. However if your brand’s main field of expertise is your homeland, you can always opt for region-specific domain extensions. This adds a sense of credibility and closeness to your potential audience in that same country.
You Can Entangle Your Domain Extension With The Specific Niche Your Business Resides In
Let’s say you are an application developer – wouldn’t it be cool for your representing website to have the extension .app? As a matter of fact, it is and as a matter of fact, a lot of app developers take on this exact approach. The same goes for web agencies worldwide – it’s rather often for people to witness a .agency domain extension when stumbling upon well… an agency.
Carefully Research Whether Your Domain Name Idea Isn’t Already Associated with Another Brand
Our Enterprise WordPress Agency for Developers isn’t referring to domain names and extensions only (the truth is two identical domain names with identical domain extensions cannot exist) – we are referring to the brand name in general. Research carefully – avoid any names that could directly be connected to some other already established business.
Your Domain Name Is What Will Ultimately Help Your Business Succeed
Our Enterprise WordPress Agency for Development hopes that we managed to give you some important insights on domain names and how is best to decide upon choosing the right one.
Remember that the way you position yourself online can both help and doom your overall existence business-wise. So choose carefully, print our 8-part listicle and skyrocket your brand today!
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