What's in your domain name?

In a day where lots of business and organisations are being encouraged to get themselves onto the internet, it seems some are rushing out to grab the first domain name they can think off. This may be all well and good but it could also be your downfall.

In Croydon, we have thousands of different types of business and organisations, charities, and many other groups who are now becoming more aware of the need to get onto the web. We have also noticed that while researching, some may be doing themselves more harm than good by having the wrong domain name.

What is a domain name? Well it is what you type in the bar at the top of your internet browser. For example www.bbc.co.uk or www.allabout-croydon.co.uk. The last bit of a domain name is the ".co.uk" or ".com" or many others available. These also have a meaning that could put off others from clicking on your web site.

Here is a quick guide to help you choose the right name:

1. Don't just rush out a grab the first name that comes into your mind. Think very carefully about how others will find you on the internet. If you are a business, will using your business name be ok or would it be too long and you would need initials instead. If you are a church parish, how do you get a name for this? Think carefully, If you looked at a name, lets say for example Parish of Sanderstead, your name would be hard to find due to search engines using the word "Parish" as a first point of call. Swapping the words around to Sanderstead Parish would resolve this as now, the word "Sanderstead" would now be the prime word in your domain.
2. Get the right prefix for your domain. This is the ".co.uk" bit at the end of your name. These too mean something so it is just important to choose the one that relates to 1, who you are and what type of company or organisation your are and 2, who you want others to see you on the net. There are many different prefixes which we are not going into on here but don't think for one minute that grabbing a ".com" is going to get you more visitors!
3. Talk about it with other members of your organisation and see what they think. They may even come up with another idea. You also need to look at it from a "Visitor" view. How would someone in the area find you on the internet? Would you name be easily found.
4. Lastly, When you have done all of this, visit a website to see if the name is available. If it is , all well and good, if it isn't, you have to start all over again. Sometimes it is worth coming up with at least three names and in an order of preference. Visit 1and1.co.uk for a good value domain name.
   

This resource is being added in full within our Internet resource sections for both community and business. To read more and get more advice, please use the links at the top of this blog on the right hand side.