How to Choose and Register a Domain Name You Will Not Regret

Your domain name is more than a web address. It appears on business cards, church bulletins, invoices, vehicle signs and every email you send if you use it for email. Changing it later is possible but painful. A little care now saves years of hassle.

Part 1: Choosing a good name

Make it easy to say and spell

Try the radio test: say the domain out loud to a friend and ask them to type it. If they hesitate over spelling, hyphens or whether a word is plural, simplify it.

Keep it short and clear

Shorter names are easier to remember and type on a phone. Avoid long phrases, double letters at word boundaries and clever spellings that people will get wrong.

Be cautious with hyphens and numbers

They are hard to communicate verbally ("is that the number 4 or the word four?") and easy to forget.

Match your organization's name

The closer your domain is to the name people already know, the better. If your exact name is taken, consider adding a simple word that describes what you do or where you are, rather than an awkward abbreviation.

Choose the ending thoughtfully

The .com ending is the most familiar for businesses. Nonprofits often use .org. Country endings, such as .us or .ca, can suit organizations focused on one country. Many newer endings exist too. Pick one your audience will remember and trust.

Check for conflicts

Search for businesses using similar names, and check trademark databases for names in your field. If a name could conflict with an existing trademark, talk with an attorney before building your brand around it. Also check whether matching social media handles are available.

Part 2: Registering it properly

Domains are registered through companies called registrars. Most problems with domains come not from the name but from how it was registered.

Register it in the organization's name

The registrant, the legal owner listed on the registration, should be your business, church or nonprofit, not a web designer, a former staff member or a volunteer. If someone else registers it for you, make sure the organization is the registrant.

Use an organizational email address

Account notices and renewal reminders go to the contact email. Use a shared administrative address that will outlast any one person, not a personal inbox.

Secure the registrar account

Use a strong, unique password and turn on two-factor authentication. Whoever controls this account controls where your website and email point.

Turn on auto-renew and keep payment current

Expired domains can stop your website and email from working, and in some cases a lapsed name can be registered by someone else. Turn on auto-renew, keep a current payment method on file and consider registering for several years at a time. Put the renewal date on your calendar as a backup.

Turn on privacy and the registrar lock

Many registrars offer privacy protection that hides personal contact details from public lookup records. A registrar lock helps prevent unauthorized transfers to another company.

Check renewal prices

First-year prices are sometimes promotional. Look at what renewal will cost before you choose a registrar.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Letting a designer or agency hold the domain in their own account.
• Using the personal email of someone who later leaves.
• Ignoring renewal notices because they look like spam, or paying fake renewal notices from other companies. Our guide to scam emails aimed at website owners shows what those look like.
• Confusing the domain, the website hosting and the email service. They can all be with different companies.

Keep a simple record

Write down your registrar, the account owner, the renewal date, where your DNS is managed, where your website is hosted and where your email is hosted. That one page will save someone hours during a future website change. When you are ready to build, our guide to choosing a website builder or WordPress is a good next step.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a .com domain?

Not necessarily. A .com is familiar for businesses, and .org is widely recognized for nonprofits. The most important thing is that your audience can remember and type it correctly.

Should I buy common misspellings of my domain?

For many organizations, one or two obvious misspellings that redirect to your main site are worth it, especially if your name is often misspelled. Buying dozens of variations usually is not.

Who owns my domain if my web developer registered it?

The registrant listed in the registration record is the legal holder. If that is your developer, ask them to transfer it to an account in your organization's name.