How to Pick the Best Domain Name for Your eCommerce Website

No doubt that we all wish to create the best eCommerce website and have the best domain name. However, picking up the best domain name for eCommerce websites is difficult. It is a critical process and as important as picking up your company name.

Simply your domain name is your “Brand Name”, that’s why you should make sure that you picked up the best domain for eCommerce.

This article will not only show you where is the best place to buy a domain name, or how to do a proper domain name search, but also will show you how to choose the right domain name for your eCommerce website. Moreover, it includes practical advice about finding your entitlement in the digital realm.

You will read about the following topics:

• Part 1: Branding and Domain Name Strategy
• Part 2: The Dot-com Problem
• Part 3: Don’t Do This
• Part 4: Testing Your Domain Ideas
• Part 5: Registering Your Domain Name

Selecting a domain name is vitally important to the entire process of creating a business online. You might have asked yourself these questions:

• How to choose a good domain name?
• What is the best type of domain name for a new business to use?
• What do I do if the dot-com domain is already taken?
• Should I use my name, or should I create a brand?
• Do I need a portfolio domain name?

In this article, we will attempt to answer these questions, but let’s first take a step back and talk about the following.

Part 1: Branding and Domain Name Strategy

What Is a Good Domain Name?

Ultimately, choosing your domain name is a relatively subjective decision, but following basic guidelines can help your users to easier find you. Needless to say, that easiness of use leads to an excellent user experience. Furthermore, a pleasing user experience means more conversions.

💡 You may also like to read: The Ultimate Guide for Better Conversion Rate

Let’s get into the rules…

• Choose a Short Domain Name: No one wants to type in a long domain name. It is very frustrating and difficult in terms of writing your email address on a document.

• Make the domain name easy to spell: There is nothing worse than trying to guide someone through spelling that domain name. Also, you have to make it simple to pronounce.

• You also need to select a memorable domain name: Try to squeeze your brain, searching for a memorable domain name that sticks with the users.

• You should have something that you can own, and can be distinguished from the crowd: make it yours, make it something that you have confidence in; whether it is your personal name or a brand name, make it something that you can uphold.

To be honest, I’m noticing a trend that the domain names are getting longer, more difficult to spell, more difficult to remember, and sometimes we misspell it because it is difficult to spell.

Therefore, you have to consider if your domain name violates a rule, or are you jammed on trying to discern a domain name idea? If you are stuck trying to develop ideas for domain names, there are four tactics or strategies that you can use to help develop ideas.

4 Rules to Choose the Best Domain Name

These four rules are simple:

1. Use a brand or a business name.
2. Use your personal name.
3. Use localized keywords.
4. Opt for a new domain extension.

Let’s find out the positives and negatives of using each one.

Rule 1: Using a Business or a Brand Name

The positives:

• It can be somewhat more professional.
• You can project a larger presence by having a brand name, and it is brilliant if you already have a brand name or a business name.
• This helps users find you if they search for your brand name.

The negatives:

• It is not going to work well in favor of organic search because you don’t have a keyword in your business name.
• If you are using your portfolio for job hunting or landing freelance, it can be peculiar for somebody who hires people to be looking at a brand name versus a personal website name.

Rule 2: Using Your Personal Name

There are a lot of ways to achieve this goal. You can use your first and last name.com, dot-design, or you can use just your last name, or you can insert a name like “Sabine Hossenfelder”. The essential point is you should own your domain name for your personal name, nevertheless.

⭐️ A great positive point is that unique names are often available. This is terrific for job hunting and freelance gigs and resumes.

On the negative side, common names are typically taken, especially in the dot-com sphere. Some people have really tough names to spell; like “Mike Wazowski”.

Using your personal name as the domain name for your agency, or your portfolio may communicate a smaller sector. It may position you as a smaller entity than you desire to be. Click To Tweet

Rule 3: Using Localized Keywords

Let’s take, for example, eCommerce platform names like Expandcart.com. Also, domain names like the best Florida design.com, or Los Angeles logo design.com.

The positive side:

It will help with organic search; especially for local clients. Thus, a lot of common complaints such as “I can’t find clients locally” will fade away. There are so many people who will search “best logo design in Los Angeles California”, which can help a lot with addressing this issue.

In addition, it is difficult to get confused here. With Blinds.com we get people that are inquiring about their household blinds, like window coverings, literally.

💡 If you haven’t created a logo yet for your brand, you might want to check these top online store logo and slogan maker websites.

The negative side:

It may sound somewhat like a real estate agency. Perhaps it is my own personal preference or a perspective; indeed, when I see “best logo design Los Angeles” I expect some of a lower-quality site.

Rule 4: Use New Domain Extensions

Those are my favorite! They include domain extensions like dot-org, dot-agency, and dot-design.

The positive aspects:

• It combines your brand, or your name, with a keyword. So, it is somewhat the best of both sides.
• Many common terms and brands are widely available because they are very new. Dot-design has been on the market for only several years. Hence, it is a good chance that your name is available.
• Also, it gives your users context without naming to explain.

What does that mean?

You want to hold a name that identifies, not explains. By selecting a domain name, with one of these new extensions, you will provide your clients with relevant context.

Accordingly, with “someone. design” somebody will know that this is a designer, as it is built into the domain name.

Some of the negatives of these new domain extensions:

• People expect a dot-com, and it may require some explanations, but you can use this as an opportunity to brand yourself.
• Unfortunately, some new extensions may prolong the domain name.
• In my opinion, the advantages of using these new extensions considerably outweigh the disadvantages, in this case.
• Even though your domain name might be a little longer, it would also give a lot of context, and all the above positive points.

Honestly, in my approach, I use all the above. I would recommend starting with one of these new extensions like dot-design and then also purchasing dot-com, dot-net, dot-NYC, dot-agency – as they’re among the best domain extensions for eCommerce – then direct all of those domains to your dot-design name.

This arrangement gives you the security of owning some different versions of your brand name.

Another bonus is that if somebody accidentally types in dot-com or dot-net, it will redirect right to your website.

💡 The “About Us” page is very important to the visitors of your website. Here’s an all-in-one guide to how to write an eCommerce about us page.

Part 2: The Dot-com Problem When Choosing a Domain Name

I’m sure you guys have all faced this dot-com problem. What happens when you get robbed? What happens when somebody steals your dot-com domain name extension? Let me show you this step-by-step.

Step 1: Check if the brand name is taken or not

Meaning, is someone using your name in the same field as yours?

If you are a store owner, is it another store owner using your brand name? If it’s happening, you need to return to the drawing board and select a new brand name; particularly if they are already established in this field.

Step 2: Verify if the site is in use

In so many incidents, these domain names will be reserved. They will be unavailable, but they are also available for auction. If you do some research and see that this domain name is recently taken but still unused, there is a good probability that you may gain a good sell for your domain name.

Step 3: Check if new extensions are available

Probably, your dot-com has been taken, but others like dot-design or dot-agency could still be available. Let’s be honest here, dot-biz and dot-net are still lame, and you have to ask yourself: are you really a dot-org?

That’s why I like domain extensions like dot-design, dot-agency dot-org.

💡 Check this article if you need a hand to design YOUR own logo?

Step 4: Try to add actionable verbs in front of your brand name

We see this a lot with the word “Try” like just “Try our new …”, “Experience the Future”. Adding something action-based, exactly in the beginning, can help attract this visitor to the site earlier.

Part 3: Don’t Do This

Here is a shortlist of things to watch out for and things to avoid:

• Dashes, hyphens, and numbers: Any kind of special character that you use is generally dangerous. It will drive you into a wall. Definitely avoid dashes.

• Purposefully misspelled words: I know, it is like a person who accuses another of the very thing he is guilty of. Still, when you purposefully misspell words, you are actually creating a disaster when considering communicating your domain names to your customers.

• Avoid acronyms: Acronyms are difficult to remember, especially if it doesn’t essentially spell out anything. It is just a series of letters and numbers; it will only add difficulty.

• Lengthy domains: I think we have over-discussed this topic. Keep the domain name short.

• Homonyms: This is important, for users can often be confused with the perfect pair spelled “PEAR”. Therefore, be careful when using homonyms. These are words that sound like other words.

• Accidental misspellings: If your brand name consists of multiple words, take care of what it spells when these words are together. For example, for a company called “IT scrap,” your domain name will spell “its crap.”

💡 Do you know how to write a catchy product description?

Part 4: Testing Your Domain Ideas

By now, you should have tons of ideas that you can use. We are going to get into a couple of different ways that you can test your domain ideas with the individuals that you know.

1. Create an email address that belongs to your new domain and write it down four times. It will indicate if the domain is too difficult to spell, or if it is too long. If you have ever been in the doctor’s office, filling out the paperwork, and you have realized that your Gmail address is like 20 characters long. So, write it four times, not just to see if it is too long.
2. Tell/say verbally your domain name to ten people, then watch them type it. That will prove to you if it is easy to type, easy to remember, easy to spell.

💡 Short on ideas of how to start an online business? Check these 16 home-based business ideas to start in 2021.

Part 5: Registering Your Domain Name

If your domain name passes all of these tests, then you don’t need domain name suggestions for eCommerce. It is time to register your domain. Let’s get started.

We will walk you through this to begin to pick a domain name provider of your choice, like GoDaddy or Namecheap. These sites can also supply you with eCommerce website name suggestions.

You can take a look at other extensions like dot-org or dot-agency. That way, you can join companies like Facebook, Adobe, Amazon, and Airbnb who are all using dot-design in some ways.

Finding the best domain name for an eCommerce website

The first thing you need to do is check domain name availability if your brand name is available. Also, we recommend visiting HostPapa, as it is the best place to buy a domain, including a domain name for an e-commerce website.

In addition, we recommend “leandomainsearch.com“, as it can offer you some good domain name examples, including the best domain names for eCommerce.

💡 Here are 50 online business ideas to start in 2021.

In a Nutshell

Your domain name is your digital mailing address. It can substantially shape how visitors perceive your brand. Choosing the perfect domain name is something like picking the perfect name for your baby girl.

Anything that works best for your online business and resonates the most with users will inevitably vary. But by following the above tips, you’ll guarantee that you can be sure that you acquire one of the best eCommerce domain names that sustain the effect of time.

Unfortunately, most of the successful names like “Cats.com” have been long picked up at the early age of the Internet, as most eCommerce website name suggestions. But that doesn’t mean you can’t find a suitable website name or domain name. After absorbing this article, it should totally equip you on how to pick a good domain name for your eCommerce, right?

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