Domain Hall of Fame
19 articles on choosing, buying, renewing and protecting a domain name.
Say it out loud
Before you buy a name, say it to three people and ask them to write down what they heard. If two of them spell it...
DomainsRead it as one long string
Domains have no spaces, and that causes trouble. A few famous cases get told over and over because they are funny and...
DomainsChoosing the ending
.com is still what most people type by default, which is worth real money. If your ideal name is taken on .com, there...
DomainsRenewal is the real price
Registrars compete on the first-year price and make their money on renewals. A domain that costs less than a coffee in...
DomainsBuying a name that already has a past
The aftermarket, where people sell domains to each other, can solve the problem of a perfect name being taken. It also...
DomainsProtect what you have
The cheapest security measures for a domain are also the most effective. Enable registrar lock, which prevents...
DomainsClean up old DNS records
Over time, a domain collects records for services you tried and abandoned. If a subdomain such as shop.example.com...
DomainsTrademarks: check before you fall in love
A domain can be perfectly available and still be a legal problem. If your chosen name is the same or confusingly close...
DomainsInternational names and look-alike letters
Domain names can contain letters beyond the basic Latin alphabet: accents, Cyrillic, Greek, Chinese and more. These...
DomainsWhy a clever ending can be a risk
Domain hacks, where the ending completes a word, are memorable: a name that reads naturally across the dot. Many such...
DomainsBrand first, keyword second
There are two ways to name a site. One uses the words people search for, like a plain description of the service. The...
DomainsMatching your domain, handles and email
A name appears in three places: the domain, the social profiles and the email addresses. When they match, customers...
DomainsWhen someone else holds your name: a short guide to disputes
If somebody has registered a domain that infringes your trademark, and appears to be using it in bad faith, there is a...
DomainsWhat really happens when a domain expires
Expiry is not a cliff, but it is a slope, and the exact timing varies by registry and registrar. A typical .com goes...
DomainsHow many domains should you own?
For most projects, one main domain, plus a small number of defensive ones, is plenty. Each extra name adds a yearly...
DomainsRetiring a domain without losing its value
When you move to a new name, the old one carries traffic, links and recognition. Treat it as an asset to hand over, not...
DomainsWhat your registration data reveals
Registering a domain requires contact details: name, address, email and phone. For years these appeared in public WHOIS...
DomainsReading domain prices without being fooled
Registrars compete fiercely on the first year, and often sell below cost to win the customer. The business model...
DomainsA domain is also your email address
Many people think of a domain as a website address, but for a lot of small businesses its most important job is email....