Domain names for small businesses: how to choose one, and make sure you own it

Your domain name (like yourbusiness.com) is your address on the internet. It's on your website, your email, your van and your business cards. Choosing a good one is easy; making sure it's really yours is the part people forget.

How to choose one

• Use your business name if it's available: rosasnails.com.
• Short and easy to say out loud. Imagine telling it to someone on the phone.
• Avoid hyphens and numbers; people forget them.
• Add your town if the name is taken: rosasnailshoboken.com.
• .com is still the safest choice in the US, because it's what people type by default.
• Check it doesn't spell something odd when the words run together.

What it costs

A typical .com costs about $10 to $20 a year. Watch out for very cheap first-year deals that renew at a much higher price, and for extras added at checkout that you don't need.

Make sure you own it

This is the important part. If a web designer or agency registers the domain in their name, they control your address. If you part ways, getting it back can be hard, and your website and email go with it.

• Register it in your own name (or your business's), with an email you'll always have access to.
• Keep the login safe, with two-step verification turned on.
• Turn on auto-renew and keep your card up to date. Expired domains can be bought by someone else.
• If someone else set it up, ask them to confirm in writing whose name it's in, and to transfer it to you if it isn't yours.

At Oddie Studio the domain is always registered in your name and paid directly by you, so it stays yours whatever happens. More in our guide to what a website costs in New Jersey.

Use it for email too

An address like hello@rosasnails.com looks more professional than a free email address, and it's tied to a name you own. Business email usually costs a few dollars a month per mailbox.

Questions