Short, memorable and safe to use: practical rules for picking a domain name, choosing an extension and protecting your brand.
Your domain name is on your business cards, your invoices, your email address and the side of your van. It is worth getting right the first time.
Make it easy to say and spell
Imagine telling someone your website address over the phone. If you have to spell it out, explain a hyphen or say “that’s the number four, not the word”, it will cost you visitors and emails. Short, plain words win.
Match it to your business name
The best domain is usually your business name. If that is taken, add a word that describes what you do or where you are, such as smithjoinery.co.uk or smithjoineryleeds.com, rather than an awkward abbreviation.
Choose the right extension
- .com is recognised everywhere and suits businesses with customers in more than one country.
- Country extensions such as .co.uk, .de or .fr tell local customers you are local.
- Newer extensions such as .io, .ai, .shop or .studio can be memorable, but check that your customers will recognise them.
You can see every extension we offer, with first-year and renewal prices, on our domain pricing page.
Protect your name
- Register the obvious variations. If you take the .com, consider your country extension too, so nobody else can use it.
- Check trade marks. Make sure your chosen name does not use another company’s trade mark. Losing a domain in a dispute is painful.
- Turn on auto-renew. Expired domains are snapped up quickly. Keep auto-renew on and your contact email up to date.
- Use WHOIS privacy. Keep your personal details out of public domain lookups, where the extension allows it.
Already have a domain elsewhere?
You can keep it where it is and point it to your Twerple hosting, or transfer it to us to manage everything in one place. For most extensions, a transfer also adds a year to your registration.
Ready to search? Try our domain search.