Domain names

A domain name gives uniqueness to your online presence. Branding online starts with having registered a domain name. The domain name is essentially used as the name of your website and also you can have personalized email addresses, like This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Top Level Domains

TLD is the last part of a Web address. By far the most common TLD in use today is .com and this is, in most cases, going to be the one that you want to stick to. However, there is also competition for this TLD, so you may find it harder to find the exact address that you want. Regardless of this, however, do not give up easily. Your primary Web address should almost always be a .com one.
If your business is a local one, which one seeks to attract a local audience, then using your country’s own TLD may be preferable. If you are using a country code TLD, your visitors will immediately think that your website seeks to target a local audience and this may be exactly what you want to achieve.

Keep It Short and Simple

The shorter and simpler your domain name is, the easier it will be to remember. Shorter is good for branding. Remember you will have to promote your business and domain name, and there are two basic venues to do that: offline (traditional old school advertising) and online (more affordable, using internet to reach your audience). In any way you would want to have a memorable domain name.

Search Engine Optimization Considerations

You will probably just want to use your company name as your domain name. If however you are running a business that operates exclusively online, you will likely want to use a slightly different strategy. In order to help positively influence your ranking in the search engine results, you should use relevant keywords in your domain name.

Copyright Issues and Cybersquatting

Registering certain domain names, even if they are currently available, may infringe copyright issues. If you have doubts, you can check on the website of your local Copyright Office if your proposed domain name infringes any copyrights. Cybersquatting is another problem on the Web and, it can on rare occasions be done unintentionally. Cybersquatting refers to deliberately using a domain name in order to profit or blackmail another company.

What if Your Domain Name is Taken

You shouldn’t be at all surprised if your domain is already registered by somebody else. In most cases, you will simply have to look for a new idea. However, if the registered domain is illegally using your trademark or infringing your copyright, then you should legally be able to get it back. In all other cases, you’ll need to choose something else.
If your domain is registered, try coming up with a list of similar alternatives.
Other possibilities include searching through dropped domain names which have just recently been unregistered or purchasing one which has already been registered through a domain name auction. Another possibility is writing to the owner of a domain directly and ask them if they are willing to sell. You can find out who owns a domain by searching here:

 

Domain Name Service

DNS is the online service that will tell the browser which is the IP address your domain name points to. This is the IP address of the server where your website and email reside. The company that you register your domain name with will provide you also with the means to edit the DNS record with the DNS regisirtry. The domain name resolution service makes the internet more human. Users do not need to remember numbers (IP addresses), instead they just need to remember or to use a domain name to access your website or to send you an email.

DNS checking tools

1. DNS checker > https://dnschecker.org/
2. WhatsMyDNS > https://www.whatsmydns.net/