Domain name - what it is and how to choose:
It is very important to choose the right domain name. Domain name you chose may depend on popularity of the web site. It must be for both visitors and search engines (as Google), because the domain has an impact on search engines, but it must not be too long. Do not make domain solely from the keywords if it is too long! It should be short and easy to remember, but it would be an advantage if domain name would contain a keyword.
To choose a domain name can be very simple. If a company has an easy to remember name and it is already a"brand“ and your company already invested in marketing to promote the name, you should choose it as a domain name as well.
Note: If the company name is very long – make it short! For example, the "Baltic Optical Disc Web site is known as www.bod.lt instead of www.balticopticaldisc.lt.
If your business name is not too long, you can freely use it as a domain name.
If you want to do online sales, you should consider which keyword you should use in your domain name.
How to choose a domain name if it is not just the company name:
- Check the domain names used by direct competitors. Write them down.
- Make two lists:
- Write down as much keywords as you can. They should match your company activities, products, services etc.
- Write down the words that you expect to be used in your website very often (in my case it would be „website“ or „development“).
- Create the most acceptable combinations of words. However, remember that the result should be:
- Short
- Easy to read and remember
- It should not be confusing
- It should not be difficult to write
- Linked to the main business activity
- With appropriate and acceptable sound
- Shorter domain names are easier to remember and it is difficult to make a mistake while writing it.
- Choose some of the most favorite combinations. If you want a specific word to be included in the domain name, think about all of its forms: noun, verb, adverb, adjective.
- Check if your domain name is not taken already. You can do it at http://www.checkdomain.com
- If it is your brand name, you should buy not only domain.com, but .net .org .eu etc. as well.
What not to do when choosing a domain name:
- If possible, do not use dashes. (Example: my-website-the-best-in-the-world.com)
- If possible, do not use numbers.
- Do not use Internet abbreviations. "to" or „too“ - "2", like example: goods2you.com
- If possible, do not use status of a company, like example Ltd. This is completely unnecessary.
- Do not use other companies' trademarks or names.
Hosting:
When you have a domain name, second step must be to choose a hosting. There is a lot of companies around the world which offers this services.
Important! Do not buy hosting without consultancy with company which will create a website for you. Different companies may use different content management systems, and different CMS may need different parameters.
If you're going to order website development at webbus.lt then hosting must meet minimum requirements of:
- PHP 5.3 or higher - http://php.net
- MySQL 5.0.4.x or higher - http://mysql.org
- Apache 2.x or higher - http://httpd.apache.org
Requirements often vary depending on the CMS (content management system).