Three steps to the right domain name

A successful online presence always consists of two components. On the one hand you need fast, reliable web hosting and on the other a suitable domain name. But how do you find the right domain name for your web project and which criteria should you consider when choosing? We have compiled the most important information in the following article.

The domain name is used as an address on the Internet so that interested visitors can find their way to your offerings. Whether it is products, services or information, anyone who wants to be reachable for potential customers needs an appropriate domain name. To get the optimum and avoid potential pitfalls when choosing a name, you can follow the following 3 steps when selecting the right domain name

Step 1 - Choose the domain extension

First, you need to decide on one of the numerous domain extensions. The so-called top-level domains (TLDs) determine which ending appears after the dot in the domain name. You can choose between country-specific and generic endings. For website operators who want to target an audience in a specific country, country-code domains are usually the first choice. For example, DE domains are used in Germany, AT domains in Austria or CH domains in Switzerland. If you are planning an international web project, a .com domain or a .net domain may be more suitable.

Since the introduction of the new top-level domains (new gTLDs) in early 2014, numerous additional generic and location-specific domain extensions such as .shop, .blog or .berlin have also become available. Although these domain extensions are not yet very widely known, they can certainly represent an attractive alternative for many website owners in the future.

Step 2 - Find the domain name

Once you have settled on a domain extension, the actual part of the name search begins. You should pay attention to the following criteria:

Descriptiveness

The chosen domain name should be as descriptive as possible. Ideally, potential visitors should be able to infer from the domain name what content they can expect on the website. This is particularly important for small businesses or sole traders that are not a well-known brand. No one can make anything of frank-müller.de, whereas fitnesstraining-müller.de is far more descriptive. It is important that the term in the name matches the services offered. Someone visiting the online shop gesund-essen.de will expect healthy food products, not a fast food restaurant.

Of course, you should not restrict yourself too much by the choice of domain name. You may want to expand your business in future. If you initially sell only women's shoes and later add men's shoes, you should not start with the domain damenschuhe.de; instead, from the outset choose something more general, such as schuhe.de, as your domain name.

Simplicity

Your domain name should be kept as simple as possible. It must be easy to remember and simple to spell. This is best achieved with a short name. Satisfied customers can therefore recommend your website more easily. Especially in personal conversations and on the phone, passing on uncomplicated names is considerably easier, as typos and misunderstandings can be avoided. Additionally, short, compact names such as auto-versicherung.de appear far more professional and inviting in search engines than long, complicated domains like die-beste-auto-versicherung-finden.de.

Uniqueness

The chosen domain name should also be as unique as possible. This helps to avoid confusion with competitors. For example, if the domain yogastudioberlin.de is already in use, it makes little sense for your own site to choose yogastudio-berlin.de. If the name is entered into a search engine or recommended verbally, visitors could mistakenly end up on the competitor's website. With a unique name, you are on the safe side.

Step 3 - Check trademark rights

Before the chosen domain name is actually registered, a careful check of trademark rights should always be carried out first. Many terms are legally protected because they may already have been registered as trademarks by other companies. They must therefore not be used by third parties. For example, online retailers are not permitted to use the brand name of products they offer directly as their own domain. Likewise, similarly sounding names with transposed letters or typos should be approached with extreme caution. Legal problems afterwards can be very costly and time‑consuming.

As with the choice of web hosting, the choice of a suitable domain name should also be made carefully. The three steps mentioned can be used as a guideline to find the right domain name for your web project.