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How Do I Choose my Domain Name?

How Do I Choose my Domain Name?

Choosing the perfect domain name is not always easy, but it's a critically important element of your website!

A good domain name helps to elevate a website to the status of a “well-known” domain brand. A bad domain name, on the other hand, can make the website drop somewhere to the bottom of the digital world.

Follow these 7 steps to choose a domain name for your website:

  1. Discover your own organization

    The first step involves getting a comprehensive understanding what your brand is doing, or what you want it to do. Consequently, the domain name can be linked to the idea that you want your brand to exude. This will still be a broad decision, but see it as the first filter in the pursuit of your perfect domain name.

  2. Keywords

    Consider the keywords that represent your organization. These are similar to the tags you would use on your organization's social media page. This does not have to be a core-factor, but it can definitely help to generate ideas for your domain name.

  3. Avoid common words

    By composing your domain name of too many common words you risk getting lost in the long list of similar domain names.

  4. Memorable

    Try to find a combination that is easy to remember, either visually or acoustically. Together with step 3, this will help to prevent that your web visitors confuse your domain name for another one.

  5. Linguistics

    Spend some time to check how your domain name will sound in international languages like English, French, German or Spanish (depening on your target audience), and analyze if it has the same effect that you want it to have. If it is an English domain name, make sure that it is easy to read for your local visitors as well.

  6. Location

    Do not forget to consider the geographical location of your organization. If your website represents a restaurant or hotel, for example, you could consider adding the name of the city, village or region to your domain name.

  7. Domain extension

    Finally, decide on the extension that you want to purchase. These days, there are a lot of extensions for Top Level Domains available.

    Here you find a full list of the domains currently available

    Try to avoid double domains like yourdomain.free.com. Having a double domain will save you a couple of euros, but it will also give off a cheap vibe and appear less “serious,” which can lead to missing out on potential customers and/or clients.

Domain extension options

  • Local domain extension (.nl)

    Primarily used for local organizations.

  • International domain extensions (.com, .net, .org, .info, .eu)

    Mostly used by organizations that focus on the international market. If you're committed to this, you can also purchase the full package of multiple international domain names and set up a "redirect-policy" that leads all domain extensions to the same website.

  • Specific domain extensions (.shop, .food, .gallery, .mail, .tech)

    Used to emphasize the activity field of your business

  • Innovation focus extensions (.io)

    Used primarily by (IT) Startups.

Looking for online success?

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We love to look at how you can achieve (even more) online success, and how we can help you realise this.