Logo Design & Website Design by firebubble

When it comes to website design there are plenty of choices to occupy your mind. Are you going to create the design yourself or will you hire a professional developer? Will you take advantage of a content management system such as WordPress or Joomla or code your design from scratch? What subject matter will you cover within your content and will you write it yourself? All of the decisions to be made to do with your website design are important, but there is one that is sometimes forgotten that is crucial to your success.

Believe it or not, your website’s domain name can be the deciding factor in how many visitors will stumble across your page, how much weight a search engine will give to your pages and how likely it is that those people who do find your site will return.

Don’t underestimate the importance of choosing the right domain name, particularly when the decision is becoming harder due to the sheer volume of names that are already registered. The following information will provide you with some knowledge as to why the domain name is so important and also offer some pointers as to how to find the most suitable name for your own website design.

Why does it matter?

An effective domain name has many different advantages. For example, say your content really struck a chord with a visitor and they want to find it again. If your domain name was easy to remember it may have stayed with them, or at least to the point that they could search for you, but a complex and unrelated name may well send your repeat customers to another location.

What’s more, if your domain name is similar to any of the names of your rivals you may find that your visitors accidentally end up there. You would, in effect, be sending page views to your own competition.

Finally it is important to know that the domain name is vital in reaching high search engine rankings. Google and the other search engines will assume that a website with a domain name that contains a keyword relevant to a particular search is a legitimate source of information for the searcher.

How to pick the best domain name

The choice of a name is important, but don’t be so terrified of getting it wrong that you don’t start. Instead, follow these simple steps to find the best domain name for your business:

1.    Start by writing down any words or phrases that you can think of that could relate to your business. These words may describe items that you sell, values that you’re known for or that even sum up what you do.

2.    Continue writing words, but this time add words that could be used to add on to the words above for effect, for example ‘direct’, ‘online’ or ‘the best’.

3.    Put some of the words from step one and step two together to form new ideas for domain names. The names should all incorporate at least one word that explains what you do.

4.    Check whether your attempts at creating a domain name exist by entering them into a domain name purchasing website. You may need to test a few to find one that is available.

5.    Once you are happy with your decision make the purchase of your domain name. You should definitely aim to buy the .com variety, but others may also be appropriate.

Congratulations, you’re now ready to place your website on the internet!

Author Note: (The above article has been added to our Website Design Articles section as part of our efforts to help provide our website visitors and customers with an insight into the Logo Design and Website Design industry).

Copyright Note: (Permission is Not granted for these articles to be featured on other websites or blogs).