So this is it; you’re about to go out into the world with your own identity. It’s exciting, right? Okay, I know you’re probably a crazy mixture of excited and scared right now but hey, I’m really excited for you!

You’re probably rattling off a ton of questions in your mind about where to start with choosing your domain name. Well, first, you’ll need to collect the answers you do know:

Who are you?

What do you see for your brand?

Who is your audience?

Once you know these, you’ll be headed in the right direction to choose your name. By your name, I mean multiple things. One, what will you be putting on your business cards? There are infinite possibilities, but I’m sure you already have something in mind.

From there you’ll need to start doing your research. Fingers crossed that the perfect name isn’t already trademarked or taken by someone else. Unfortunately, sometimes it isn’t that easy. If your name is available, that means it’s time to secure your domain. Yay! One step closer to establishing your identity.

When choosing your domain, you may want it to involve your name, but you also want to follow a few guidelines that will help you out later down the line.

For starters, keep it short; no one likes having to remember a super long domain and it also opens the door for typos and confusion when people are trying to find you.

While you want to keep it short you also want to be sure it makes sense. Not only with your brand but by using the appropriate extensions. These extensions can tell your viewers a lot about your brand before they ever even click on your site. So what are these extensions? I’ll start with the most common and go from there:

.com: Most widely known and utilized, which also means it can be harder to pin down your name without having to generate a long domain.

.net: Technical or Internet Infrastructure sites.

.co: Company, community, or commerce.

.biz: Business, commercial, or e-commerce.

.org: Non-commercial organization or non-profit.

.me: Blogs, personal sites, or resumes.

Of course, this list can go on forever and there are literally hundreds of possibilities. Branching out into these allows you to create a custom and highly relevant domain name to symbolize your brand. Some of these include:

.photography

.design

.guru

.craft

The possibilities are endless.

One last check before you buy: Is this the one? Will it capture your audience’s interest? Is it catchy? Don’t jump at the first one that sounds okay; let it sit for a minute. Not too long of course. If it feels good rolling off your tongue and you feel it represents you, that means it’s time to lock it in. 

When buying your domain, be sure to look at the current price and the length of time you’ll own it for. After all, nothing hurts worse than setting up everything perfectly and a year down the road realizing that you forgot to renew or the price went up.

Also, protect it. WhoisGuard and other services are your best friend and will help to ensure no one snags that awesome name away from you if you ever let it lapse; a few extra dollars now will most definitely be worth it later.

That’s it! You’ve already begun establishing yourself in your new online presence. You now have a registered domain and you are one step closer to that dream. But, don’t stop there. While you take a wine or coffee break and let this new milestone sink in, be sure to subscribe to Salt Inspired Letters and follow along. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be guiding you along this awesome new journey.

Next step:

How to Get Started with WordPress: Choose Your Home

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