Domain names and Logos

Before a website can be found or put online, it needs a domain name (ie: google.com, paypal.co.uk). You can buy national (.co.uk) or international (.com) domain names. Ideally, you should find a domain name that relates to your business name or the focus of your website. Once you start looking, you'll realise that many of the best names have been taken, so you may need to be creative in choosing your domain name.

Domain name costs

You can't buy a domain name, but instead pay an annual fee to use it. The name is then yours for as long as you pay for it, whether or not you actually use it. Domain names aren't expensive, and many cost as little as $10 - $15 a year. Some national domain names cost more, and some less.

What's in a name?

If you do a Google search for something like 'Birmingham Cattery' you'll notice that the first few results are often from websites with domain names that include the words 'Birmingham' and 'Cattery' or 'Catteries'. If you look for something like 'Bed and breakfast' you'll see that the first few results on Google have domain names that include the words 'bed and breakfast'. This might be because the website has been well-promoted, but more often than not it's because Google assumes that these websites are what you're looking for. So, whether you have a language school in London, or a kennels in Liverpool, it helps if you choose a domain name that reflects the words your pptential clients will use when they search on Google.

Find and buy a domain name

First, draw up a list of acceptable domain names. For example, if you are thinking of getting a website for a kennels which is called 'Hunter kennels' and is located in Croydon in Surrey, you might draw up a list that includes 'hunter kennels', 'kennels', 'surrey kennels, 'croydon kennels', and so on. It's worth remembering that the shorter a website name is, the easier it is to remember and find.

There are a whole range of specialist domain names available, such as .london, .biz, .holiday and so on, but we doubt the current value of most of these and would usually recommend focussing on national or international names. For our own websites we use .com, .co.uk and .org. As soon as you find a suitable name, buy it before someone else beats you to it! In terms of where to look for a domain name, we always use GoDaddy.com.

Website Logos