Your domain name is the address people type, the ending of every email you send and, often, the first impression of your business. Choosing it takes a few minutes; changing it later takes months of redirects, reprinted cards and lost search rankings. It is worth getting right.
Keep it short and easy to say
Read the name out loud as if you were giving it over the phone. If you have to spell it, explain a hyphen or repeat it twice, it is too complicated. Short names are easier to remember, faster to type on a phone and look cleaner on a business card.
Avoid hyphens and numbers
Hyphens are easy to forget, and numbers raise the question "the digit or the word?". Both send visitors to the wrong place, sometimes to a competitor.
Match your brand, not a keyword list
Stuffing keywords into a domain no longer helps search rankings much, and it makes the brand look generic. A distinctive name that matches your business name is easier to protect and to build trust around.
Pick the right extension
A .com works everywhere. If most of your customers are in Egypt, a .eg or .com.eg ending signals that you are local and can sit alongside a .com. Newer endings such as .store, .app or .tech can work well when they describe what you do.
Check before you buy
- Search the name in our domain search to see which endings are free.
- Run a quick WHOIS lookup on close variations to see who owns them.
- Search social networks for the same handle, so your name is consistent everywhere.
- Make sure the name is not a registered trademark in your market.
Register the variations that matter
If your brand matters, register the .com, your local ending and the most common misspelling, then point them all at one website. It costs little and stops others from using your name.
Next step
When you have a shortlist, search it on the IDX domains page. Registration includes DNS management and free WHOIS privacy, and you can connect the domain to your hosting and business email from the same client area.
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