Naming Your Business: Buying a Domain Name
As an entrepreneur and business owner I understand the stress and anxiety that comes when trying to pick your new businesses name. You want the name to portray your personality, what your business is about and something you can be proud of. Not to mention you want it to be easy to spell, something people can remember and most importantly of all a name that isn’t already taken by someone else. Unfortunately in todays online atmosphere, picking the right name can accelerate your businesses success. Part of naming your business involves finding and buying a domain name ( or in other words a URL). The worst thing that can happen to a new entrepreneur is when you find out the perfect name’s url is not available and you have to start the naming process over again!
While helping other entrepreneurs pick their name I have seen the devastation of losing the perfect name for their website because that name is not available. To help you as a new entrepreneur, blogger or website owner we wrote this blog post to help you identify available domain names and how to purchase a domain name for your website and business. We recommend that you follow these steps for buying a domain name while naming your business:
Picking a Domain Name Host
Not all Domain name hosts are the same and not all hosts charge the same amount. It is important to pick the best one that will work for you. We prefer using our on domain name service because a lot of times we help in purchasing the domain name. However we recommend google domains because as part of your online business you also need a google account for analytics and search console tools. In the end it all comes down to what is most convenient to you and your business without breaking the bank. Give us a call if you aren’t sure how to purchase your domain, we would be happy to help you.
We recommend using the following hosts because of their reliability, cost per year and customer service:
Branching Software’s Domain Name Service:
We provide 24/7 support with our hosting and domain name packages while our domains start at $12 dollars a year. We can help you find and identify your business name while offering our other services at discounted prices. With our fast and reliable services we can get your website up and running under your business name if it is available.
Google Domains
We are big fans of google domains. It is easy to use and purchase a new domain while utilizing one account for your google analytics and search console accounts. We prefer using google domains because their price is for a .com domain starts at $12 dollars. They also have great options and fair pricing for other domain endings like .biz, .tech and .software. Their wide range of options and search tool is very easy to use.
Quick Tip: You may also consider purchasing (or getting your domain name for free) from your WordPress or website host.
Check If a Domain Name (URL) is Available
Now that you have picked a Domain Host it is important to see if the business name you have chosen is available as a URL. In order to show you how to do this we recommend using google domains search option. In order to search your domain click here and follow the below steps to find your domain name with the best domain name ending. First thing is first enter your desired name with no spaces. (ex branchingsoftware).
You will immediately feel bombarded with multiple options and multiple endings. There are many endings to choose from but we always recommend .com, .org, .edu and .net for as your domain ending. You will want to chose and ending that fits your organization, for most ecommerce and Shopify stores you will want a .com ending, because this is thought of as more legit, while a non profit organization or church would choose a .org ending. lastly .edu endings are generally reserved for schools and education. Please pick the appropriate ending for your business as the correct ending can help your business succeed.
Now that you have searched your desired url and decided your ending you can see in the list of results on the google domains search if that name is available or not. If it isn’t available then back to the drawing board. I hope that when you get to this point the name is available and you can proceed to purchasing the domain name. If its available, then add to your cart and proceed to checkout. Many times wordpress hosts, Like Hostgator give you a free domain when you purchase your website hosting plan. Click here to get up to 60% of hostgator plans with a free domain.