How to pick a great domain name

A good domain name is short, easy to spell when said out loud, hard to confuse with something else, and ages well. There are no hard rules, but a few that tend to save regret later:

Keep it short. Single words or two-word combos work best. "swansea.com" is great; "swanseapizzaandcatering.com" is a mouthful customers will misspell.

Make it pronounceable. If you can't say it on the phone without spelling it letter by letter, pick something else. Avoid hyphens for the same reason — saying "dash" out loud is awkward and visitors often forget the hyphen when typing.

Avoid numbers and unusual spelling. "Krazee" might feel clever but every customer will accidentally type "Crazy." Same for "4u" vs "for you." If both versions exist, you'll lose traffic to whoever owns the other.

Prefer .com if you can get it. .com still carries the most trust with general consumers and gets typed automatically. .co and .io are fine for tech-leaning audiences. .net and .org have specific connotations (network providers, nonprofits). New TLDs like .shop, .restaurant, .design can work for the right brand but get extra suspicion from average internet users.

Think about edge cases. Read the domain out as if it's one word with no spaces. Some real-world examples have ended up combining into things the company didn't intend. A quick read-aloud test catches these.

Think 5 years out. Picking a domain that locks you to one product or one geography ("sandiegopools.com") is fine if that's what you do forever — restrictive if you expand. A broader brand name leaves room to grow.

Already in use? If your first-choice .com is taken, options include: pick a different name entirely (usually best), pick a different TLD (.co works), or try a variant (add "get," "try," or the type of business). The aftermarket exists but premium domain prices typically start at thousands of dollars — not worth it for most.