With a new website, or a blog, one of the factors that contributed to online success was the domain chosen to represent your online presence. A look at some of the biggest and heavily trafficked sites on the web, however, will easily indicate some meaningless names. Because the names are ridiculous or without meaning, do not mean that they are not important. What it really does indicate that it is important to have unique domain names, even though they may sound meaningless. What exactly is a Yahoo, or a Reddit?
The takeaway from the importance of choosing unique domain names, is that changing them presents some challenges. Website owners are reluctant to change the domain for some good reasons. It is analogous to changing the name, you were given after birth. It makes you very difficult to find.
If after several years of being online, a brand has been built, along with a following, changing the name of brand, can be suicidal, as it required rebuilding. A new domain represents a new entity, and although it is not impossible, redirection and rebuilding of traffic and followers.
The objective of rebuilding, however, implies some distrust, so a domain is actually a cradle to grave attachment that should be chosen carefully.
Choosing unique domain names can be a frustrating task, as the possibilities and options are endless, and can sometimes be conflicting. A name that reflects or provides an indication of your business, may or may not be important, but the problem is that registering them may be difficult.
Some registrars offer domain suggestion tools, but they can be suspect, as they may show the domains that available at higher prices. There is no problem with buying already registered domains, as they may have already built reputation and following that can easily be applied to your business, but the suitability must be carefully examined. The way that the web has evolved, means that there may really not be a perfect domain name, but the advantages comes in having unique domain names, but it now begs the question as what makes it unique.
A few conventions or guidelines can help. The maximum length allowed for a domain name 255 characters, with the longest on record being 63 characters, which certainly is unique, but generally shorter is better, as it is easy to remember. The minimum number of characters required is two. Several characters are disallowed, and the first character must be alphabetical or numeric, while the last character must not be a minus sign or a period. No spaces are allowed, in domain names, but the underscore has retained technical significance. Other than those, the field is left wide open, with an unlimited number of extensions, so you can be as creative as you wish, when choosing your domain names.
