Posted by Craig Cochrane on 18 August 2011 | 2 Comments

Tags: domain name registration

Part 1: How to get a Domain Name for your website

As with anything, a good place to start is from the beginning. The first thing you need to have a website for your business is a good Domain Name.

What is a Domain Name?

A Domain Name(also called a URL) is the name you register your website under, for example: businessdevelopmentcompany.co.nz

Your Domain Nameis what customers use to find your business online. It acts as an extension of your business name, and you will build your brand around it in the same way you would your business name. 

Registering your domain name

A Domain Name needs to be registered.  Registration is paid on an annual basis, just like a car registration. 

 It is important to keep your registration current, otherwise you risk losing your Domain Name to someone else, along with all the work you have put into promoting your online brand under that name.  It’s the online equivalent to having to start again with a new business name after one year of trading, advertising and building a customer base around your business.  

The cost of registering your Domain Namewill vary so shop around. 

Need some help registering your domain name?

How do I choose a good domain name?

Finding a good domain name for your business might seem straightforward but sometimes what you want is already in use by someone else or just isn’t suitable.  It’s always good to start with your business name or what you do, and to think about your target market. 

Reserving a domain name makes it unavailable to others even if you aren’t using it for your website, but still needs to be renewed each year to keep it. Once you have it, your domain name becomes an important part of your business branding so choose wisely and think about what it says about your business.

Most New Zealand based businesses will want their business name followed by .co.nz as their domain name, and will also reserve an additional domain name with the .com or the newly available .co variation to protect their interests – either from the competition or in case of future expansion.  Don’t get paranoid about what other names might be a threat if someone else starts using it: reserving every variation on your business name can be expensive, so sometimes you just have to know when to let go.

What does your domain name say about you?

Let’s say you own Tentertons Sports Shoes Store on the High Street in Rangiora, and tentertons.co.nz already belongs to Tentertons dressmakers in Porirua. 

Any alternative you consider should be something memorable or already part of your branding.  If you market yourself as Tentertons: the Sports Shoes Store on the High Street, you could try thesporstshoestore.co.nz, or if your branding is: Tentertons Sports Shoes – helping kiwis to run, jump and play since 1967, then runjumpandplay.co.nz might be a good alternative.

The wider you stretch your net, the bigger the holes – try not to be too generic. You might find that sportsshoes.co.nz is too broad for your market, and a variation like trainers.co.nz could be misconstrued as belonging to a business offering personal fitness trainers or private tertiary institute.

Don’t make it too difficult for people, either too long or with repeated letters that make it easy to misspell: tentertonssportsshoesstore.co.nz would not make a good choice.

How important is the domain name suffix?

A crucial part of your domain name to consider is the end – called the domain namesuffix.  Suffixes include .com, .co.nz, .co.uk, and over 30 others that are available to choose from.

The suffix tells people where you are promoting your business, but not necessarily where you are based.Only companies registered and operating in Australia can own a .com.au domain name. Everywhere else it is a free for all! So your NZ based business can register for a .co.uk if you want to focus your marketing in the United Kingdom.  Most people, however, will stick with their country of origin and/or go for a .com if it is available.

Part of the suffix of your domain name can also tell people what type of entity or type or site you have but this is not always clear either.  Some are strictly limited to who can use them, like .govt, .ac, but others are open to anyone.

If a name you want for your website is not available as a .com or .co.nz you will be offered alternative suffixes like .net or .org. You need to know that .net is usually a network provider like paradise.net.nz and .org usually denotes a non-government organisation or not-for-profit entity so be wary of using one of these for your business.  You are better off being a little more creative to secure the .co.nz suffix.

 Need some help choosing your domain name?

 This month’s topic:

1. How to get a Domain Name for your website

1.  

Next topic:

2.Website Hosting facts