How to choose a domain name and come up with a name for your website

Název webu tedy doména je vidět vždy, proto je důležité důkladně promyslet jméno projektu či firmy. Doménu je třeba vyťukávat do políčka prohlížeče a je vždy součástí odkazu na Váš web. Doména je vidět všude, kde je o Vašem webu zmínka. Doménu si lidé budou sdělovat, když si budou o Vašem webu povídat. Takže ANO, název domény a název Vašeho webu They ARE important.

Do not panic. Your website name and domain are important, but this is not NASA (It’s not rocket science.). Choosing a name for an important website usually takes me a week. It should not take you much longer. Do not let your excitement about launching a new website fade by spending too long thinking up a name.

How do you come up with a name for your website?

1. First, think broadly about what your website is actually going to be. Gradually narrow your thoughts down until you get to the heart of the matter: “What will my website be about and who is it for? What specific content will it have? Who will my typical visitor be?”
2. Next, come up with every possible name and try entering them into a domain search tool. Is the domain available? The domain must be available!
3. Write the available domains down in a table. Once you feel you have a few usable names on the list, you can stop.
4. Go through the table and delete any names that are silly, unsuitable or hard to understand. Ideally, the name should make it clear what we will find on the website. If that is not possible, it should at least hint at the topic.
5. Send your list of domains to your friends and ask for their advice: “I’m making a new website and I’d like your advice: which name do you think is best? Feel free to mark more than one.” Ideally, these should be friends who belong to your target audience (they are potential readers, i.e. they are interested in the website’s topic).
6. Write the results down in the table and count up the winner.
7. Voilà! Your website has a name!

The question your domain should never prompt: “How do you spell that?”

I had a company called InterMagic (the name has been changed; the company is still thriving, it just is not mine any more). Every time I told someone the name of my company, the same question followed: “How do you spell that?”

Even after 10 years, my mum could not spell the company name correctly! It was not my mum’s fault. It was a mistake made when coming up with the company name.

In the Czech Republic, companies from the English-speaking world still have trouble with people typing and remembering their brands. They are spelt differently from how they are pronounced, and that is a problem.

Double letters in a company name, and therefore in the domain name, do not help either. Some large companies then end up buying domains for hundreds of thousands of CZK where they were losing customers. That means domains that customers reach by mistake when they type the wrong term.

What mistakes did I make when choosing a domain?

1. A single capital letter in the middle of the name. It is so awkward to explain that you often have to write it down for people, otherwise they do not understand it. And they certainly will not remember it.
2. An English name. Unless you have a serious reason, do not choose words with English pronunciation. The older generation will not understand it and will never be able to spell it correctly, and the younger generation… will not really understand it either.
3. A strange compound with strange pronunciation. Overall, it is a silly name, because even if you read it with Czech pronunciation, it is not clear how it is spelt.

Do not make the same mistake I made when I was starting out, and choose a name that will save you time and money.

The name of this website is webychytre.cz. Apart from the letter “ř”, there is no doubt about how it is spelt. If someone does not know that Czech domains have no diacritics, there may be a misunderstanding, but otherwise (I hope) not. Do not worry, I also know of much better names for this website, but domains related to web design are heavily “picked over”, so I had to fight my way through a database of taken domains with my ideas. I would rather choose a not-quite-perfect name than have a domain other than .CZ. Other good names include, for example, prahaneznama.cz or zivotnabali.cz.

Which domain extension? .CZ, .NET, .COM?

In the Czech Republic, always give preference to a .CZ domain. I would only choose a different domain in exceptional cases. An exceptional case is, for example, a VERY crowded sector such as flights or loans. These lucrative niches are so packed that it is hard to find a decent available domain. Alternatively, you can target a heavily searched keyword, as the website vtipy.netdoes. Czechs are used to .CZ domains, and if you have a different domain, it can easily happen that they go to a competitor’s website or send emails to a complete stranger (confirmed in practice). Why? If your domain is mojesuperdomena.net, someone may send an email by mistake to the domain mojesuperdomena.cz (which belongs to a competitor). The domain extension does not matter if you are not doing brand building and are after one-off visits and monetising the visitor. Typically, this is when you want to rank the website in search engines and having a keyword in the name helps. You see this a lot around loans and other lucrative sectors. These are websites that do not build a brand: they just want to get a visitor to the site, monetise them once and be done.

A domain should work on the radio

What do I mean by “on the radio”? That if someone only hears it spoken, they do not have to ask “how do you spell that?”, and the domain is easy to remember. It is not only about radio advertising; after all, you might not be planning any. It is just an example. Simply put, people should be able to talk about your website, and it should be easy to share the domain name in conversation. So here is a tip: imagine you are going to advertise on the radio.

How to choose a domain name for your business or blog

The steps above work for any website, but the purpose of your site changes what a good name looks like.

For a business

Use your company name or something very close to it. Your customers should see the same name on your invoices, your shopfront and your website. Before you register, check that nobody else uses the name as a trademark in your field. Also check that matching social media profiles are still free.

For a blog

You have more freedom. The name can describe the topic or carry your own name. Do not tie it too closely to one narrow subject, place or year, because blogs often grow beyond their first topic.

Common mistakes when choosing a good domain name

• Hyphens. People forget them, and your visitors may end up on a similar domain without the hyphen.
• Numbers. When you say the name aloud, nobody knows whether to type the digit or the word.
• Too many words. A long name is hard to remember and easy to mistype.
• Unwanted words. Write the name in lowercase letters with no spaces and read it again. Joined words can form a different word you did not intend.
• Forgetting renewal. A domain is rented, not bought for ever. Turn on automatic renewal so you do not lose it.

Do not rush, but do not wait for perfection either

Výběr názvu webu a domény je důležitý. Nepodceňte to.

Název webu a doména ovšem tvoří Váš web jen z malé části, tak to zase nepřeceňujte a nevymýšlejte do nekonečna.

Viděl jsem úspěšné weby s hodně podivnými názvy, ale dobrý název pomůže, tak ať vyberete dobře!

Frequently asked questions about how to choose a domain name

How do you choose a good domain name?

Pick a short name that is easy to spell, say and remember. It should hint at what your website is about. Avoid hyphens, numbers and unclear spelling, and check that the domain is available before you fall in love with it.

How do you choose a domain name for a blog?

Start with the topic of your blog or your own name. Keep the name broad enough so it still fits if you start writing about related subjects later. Ask a few people from your target audience which option they prefer.

How do you choose the right domain name for your business?

Use your company name or a close version of it so customers recognise you everywhere. Check that the name is not a trademark of another company in your field. Make sure matching social media profiles are available too.