How To Snare A Good Domain - But What's in a Name? Part 1

For any Webmaster developing a new site, there's a lot to think about -- design, content, promotion, backend development, and satisfying the client. The problem is that many seemingly unimportant items don't get the attention they deserve, and the site's name is one of these.
Why Does It Matter?

OK, so you know that your site is built around a name. You'll use it as a domain, as a page title, in your logo, and possibly in the design. A name is much more than this, though. Your site or business name will be:

the way in which people find your site,
the way they will refer to it and, most importantly
the thing they'll remember when they leave.


If you don't really believe this, think about it for a moment. You want to buy a book on the Web. You don't go to a search engine and type in "books"; you go to Amazon or Barnes & Noble, and of course when you want Webmaster information, you go to SitePoint. Similarly, when you have a good experience on a site, you might say to your friends "I read a great article on SitePoint", or "I found great book prices at Amazon".

Whatever the name of your site -- and however you promote it -- it's vital to realise that the name is going to be a major part of your success.
What IS A Good Name?

So now you understand the importance of your site's name, how can you ensure that you pick a good one? The first thing you must think of, obviously, is domains. There's no point in having a great name for a site if you don't have the domain, so the Whois databases are the place where you'll do your research.

So, what makes a good domain?

Good Extension

Short

Easy To Spell

Descriptive

Keywords

Good Extension

If you believe the spam which arrives in your mailbox every morning, .ws is the new .com, .us is the new .com. .tv is the new .com... But the reality is simple: there is no new .com. Whatever develops in the Internet industry, the .com domain will always be synonymous with the top Websites. If you're surfing around looking for a site, and you know its name, 9 out of 10 times you'll try .com.

So, for the Website owner who wants their site to be found, the rule is: if at all possible, get a .com name.

But as many of you will know, it's not always possible to get a good .com name that relates to your site. So what extension should you pick instead? I'd say that .net, .info and country level domains are also viable for a Website, but only in certain circumstances:

You can use a .net for most types of sites, but it works best for technology-related sites. If you can get a short, snappy .net, it's almost as good as a .com, but don't bother with anything that's too long or complex.
Consider .info if your site is informational. For example, if I was looking for the Web host 'HostRocket', I'd go to the .com site, but if I wanted to get more information about using it, I'd try the .info version of the domain (which just happens to be the customer-driven informational site). Don't bother setting up a non-informational site on a .info domain, though: it'll just annoy people.
Country level domains are useful for particular Websites. If you're building a site for a business that's established in a particular country, or you plan to aim for a specific county's audience, then you may be better off with this than a generic .com (although I'd buy them both to be safe). As with .net, it's really not worth buying a country level domain for a worldwide site, unless you can get something very short and memorable.


Short

I've mentioned length before, but it's important to understand why short domains are so good.

Firstly, of course, they're easier to remember. Anyone who has tried learning "Hamlet" quotes will tell you that a word is easier to remember than a phrase. Two word domains are probably fine -- three at the most, but if you have a really long domain it will just be confusing, especially if the words aren't capitalised.

A simple name will also:

roll off the tongue more easily in conversation,
look more professional and
have less chance of being mis-typed by potential visitors.