Persimmon Publishing
+44 (0)845 301 7737
+44 (0)845 301 7737
Before we can start the design of your website, you need to find a suitable name for it. This is called a domain name, and once you decide on a name, you can register it and then you will pay a small annual fee.
The first thing you need to consider is what domain name you want. If your business is well-known by its name, it would be a good idea to make that your first choice. However, do not be concerned if the name of your firm is not available. It is now more than a decade since people started registering domain names, so it is quite possible that the one you want will be taken.
As for the name itself, try combining your name with what you do. For example, if you are a dentist, and you wanted Smith and Smith (smithandsmith.co.uk) you could try smithandsmithdentist.co.uk, or smithsdentist.co.uk, or jimandmikesmithdentists.co.uk if those are your names. Or even dentistrybysmiths.co.uk, (or .com, etc).
Google still gives extra value to domains that include the keyword people are searching for so try to get that into your domain name.
If you can get your business type into the domain name, then do so. What if you already have a domain name? If it is something like abcltd.co.uk, where abc are the initials of your company name (eg, A. B. Charles Ltd), but not the actual company name I would recommend changing it, unless it is over three years old, in which case it would be best to stick with it. If your business was brewing, then abcbrewing.co.uk would be a good one.
The other alternative is to combine your name or business type with the city or town where you work, if that is appropriate. For example, 'dentistsbristol.co.uk' would be good.
If you operate nationwide, this would not be such a good idea, of course.
What are the alternatives for the type of domain? For a business is in the UK, a XXX.co.uk is a good domain, and in Ireland XXX.ie.
You can have also have:
However, as more and more people are searching locally, it makes sense to have a .co.uk domain name if you are in Britain, or .ie if you are Ireland. If your business operates outside the UK, you will find a .com domain worthwhile.
Of the main alternatives, .net and .org are considered to have the same value as .com, but the others are seen to be of slightly lower value, although .biz is good for a business. A factor to bear in mind here is whether people who visit your website will either copy the full name of the website, which is called a URL from an email, or will type it in from memory.
If they are likely to type it in from memory, it is better to have a .co.uk ending, as that is what most people will remember.
There are many places where you can find whether the domain name you want is taken, but I recommend Domains Bot because if your name is not available they will try hundreds of other permutations. Also, you can tell them what word you want in part of it, and they will find a selection with that word in it. Incidentally, we have no relationship with domainsbot except that we have found their service very useful.
To start your search go to Domains Bot. Most registrars of domain names also offer to search for domains, but do not find you alternatives. We use namecheap.com to register domain names because their prices are reasonable, and they operate in a straight forward way. We are not an affiliate of theirs, but use it ourselves. Some better known ones are not as good as they appear at first sight.
