Choose and register a domain name
A domain name identifies a website’s location on the internet. You should choose your domain name carefully, as it will effectively support your brand and business online.
Different types of domain names for business
There are many different types of domain names. They generally fall under one of two categories:
generic top-level domains (gTLDs) such as .net, .com, .org, .biz and .info
country code top-level domains such as .uk for the UK
Most UK companies choose to have domain names that end in .com or .co.uk. Some Northern Ireland businesses also use .ie as another option.
There are now hundreds of gTLDs available to register, eg .london, .company, .club, .eu. Think carefully about the geographical implications of your server and domain names, as they can affect local search results.
What is a good domain name?
When choosing a domain name, most businesses choose a name based on the name of their business or product. Your domain name should be:
short
easy to spell
easy to remember
relevant to your business or product
You should avoid choosing a domain name that:
misuses a trade mark that belongs to another business
misleads users into thinking you are someone else
contains lots of dashes (eg my-new-website-business-and-shop.co.uk) – this looks unprofessional, is difficult to remember and some search engines may consider it to be spam