Domain Name Strategy: What to Consider

Your domain name is your address on the internet—often the first thing customers see and type. A good domain is memorable, professional, and serves your brand. Poor domain decisions create ongoing friction. Here's what to consider.

Choosing Your Primary Domain

Keep It Short and Simple

The best domains are:

Easy to spell (avoid unusual spellings)
Easy to say aloud (radio test: can you say it clearly?)
Easy to remember
Free of hyphens (often look spammy and are easily forgotten)
Free of numbers (unless part of your brand)

If people regularly misspell or mishear your domain, you'll lose traffic to typos.

Match Your Brand

Ideally, your domain matches your business name exactly: businessname.co.uk. If your exact name isn't available, consider:

Adding a word: getbusinessname.com, businessnamehq.com
Using a different extension: businessname.co.uk instead of .com
Shortening: if your full name is long, an abbreviation might work

Avoid domains that misrepresent your business or could be confused with established brands.

Extensions (TLDs)

The extension matters:

.co.uk: Signals a UK business. Good for companies primarily serving UK customers. Trusted and familiar to UK audiences.

.com: The global standard. If available, often worth having even if you use .co.uk primarily.

.org: Traditionally for non-profit organisations. Using it for a commercial business can confuse.

.io, .co, .tech, etc.: Tech industry alternatives when .com isn't available. More accepted than they once were, but less universally recognised.

New TLDs (.shop, .store, .digital): Can be relevant and memorable, but some users are unfamiliar. A .shop domain is clearly an online store; a .pizza domain communicates immediately.

For UK businesses, .co.uk or .com are safest. More unusual extensions can work but carry slight recognition risk.

Protecting Your Brand

Register Variations

Consider registering:

Common misspellings
Different extensions (.co.uk, .com, .uk)
With and without hyphens if applicable

This prevents competitors or bad actors from acquiring domains that could confuse customers or capture traffic.

Point Variations to Your Main Site

Secondary domains should redirect to your primary domain. Don't create separate websites—consolidate your web presence and SEO value.

Monitor Registrations

Some services monitor for domains similar to yours being registered. Useful for established brands worried about impersonation.

Registration and Management

Choose a Reputable Registrar

Domain registrars (Namecheap, Google Domains, Cloudflare, 123-reg, etc.) manage your domain registration. Look for:

Clear, honest pricing (some advertise low first-year prices with high renewals)
Free privacy protection (hides your personal details from public records)
Reliable management interface
Good customer support

Avoid registrars that make transferring away difficult.

Keep Registration Details Current

Domains require valid contact information. Keep it updated—renewal notices go to the registered email. Lost domains due to outdated contact info are difficult to recover.

Enable Auto-Renewal

Expired domains can be registered by others. Enable auto-renewal to prevent accidentally losing your domain. Set calendar reminders as backup.

Domain Ownership

Ensure your business owns its domains, not your web designer, hosting company, or a former employee. Domain ownership disputes create serious problems.

If someone else registered the domain on your behalf, confirm ownership can be transferred to your control.

DNS and Technical Considerations

DNS (Domain Name System) connects your domain to your website and other services:

A records point to your web server
MX records direct email
TXT records verify ownership for various services

Misconfigured DNS breaks websites and email. When changing hosts or services, DNS updates must be handled correctly. Your developer or hosting provider should manage this.

Propagation Time

DNS changes don't take effect instantly. Changes propagate across the internet over minutes to hours (sometimes up to 48 hours for global propagation). Plan changes in advance, not at critical moments.

DNSSEC

DNSSEC adds security to DNS, preventing certain attacks. It's worth enabling if your registrar supports it.

Email and Domain

Email addresses at your domain ([email protected]) look more professional than free email ([email protected]). They also give you control—if an employee leaves, you control the email address.

Consider email setup when choosing domain-related services. Some hosting includes email; others require separate configuration.

Subdomains vs. Subdirectories

Should your blog be blog.example.com or example.com/blog?

Subdirectories (example.com/blog) consolidate SEO value on your main domain. They're generally preferred for content that should strengthen your primary site.

Subdomains (blog.example.com) are somewhat separate. They're useful for genuinely distinct properties or technical requirements, but divide SEO authority.

For most businesses, subdirectories are the better default.

Common Mistakes

Registering through hosting: Bundling domain registration with hosting can complicate moving hosts later. Registering separately gives more flexibility.

Letting others own your domain: Always ensure your business directly owns the domain.

Ignoring renewals: Lost domains can cost your business significantly.

Choosing trendy over practical: Clever domain hacks (.ly, creative spellings) can backfire if they're hard to communicate.

Not securing the .com: Even if you use .co.uk, owning the .com prevents others from taking it.

When Premium Domains Make Sense

Premium domains (previously registered, valuable names) can cost hundreds or thousands. Worth considering when:

You're building a significant brand
The premium domain exactly matches your brand
Marketing budget could absorb the cost

For small businesses, the perfect domain is nice but not essential. A good, practical domain with strong business execution beats a perfect domain with poor execution.

Our Approach

We help clients choose appropriate domains and manage them properly. We ensure you own your domain directly and configure DNS correctly for your hosting and email needs.

If you're choosing a domain for a new venture or need to sort out domain ownership issues, contact us for guidance.