Choosing the right domain name

Choosing a domain name is an extremely important part of designing your website, as that becomes the name of your website.

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Your domain name is the first part of the Uniform Resource Locator, or "URL." There are many things to keep in mind while choosing a suitable domain name

If you haven't already done so, give some thought as to what your domain name is going to be. For those who are new to the internet, the domain name, also known as a website address, is a word or phrase that a website visitor has to type in to visit your site. It's preceded by http://www, although for modern-day browsers typing this portion in is optional. It ends with .com, .ca, .net, .biz, or a host of other extensions that you'll be exposed to when you're ready to sign up for your domain name.

Stuffing your domain name with keywords isn't going to help much, if at all, unless those keywords naturally make sense. For example, don't pick "peanutbutterandjelly.com" if you're planning to launch a site for fishing supplies. Also, avoid abbreviations. Using your whole site name will make your domain name easier to remember. Try to get a ".com" name, as those are the most popular and easiest for most users to remember.

However, if this is impossible, don't use .com anywhere in the name if your site is under ".net". Doing so is tacky, and will only cause confusion to potential visitors. Remember to display your site name--prominently. Multiple domains can be a good idea but only when built as a complete strategy. Each domain also requires different content to avoid being penalized by search engines for duplicate content.

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