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How to choose a name that’s right for you
Name Guide
To get a website address, or domain, one must register it with the authority
that regulates website names. Because of the rapid expansion of the Internet,
almost 98% of the words in the English language, and their variations or combinations,
have been registered as domains.
Like the gold rush in 1848, many people have ‘claimed’ domains not necessarily because
they want to use them as a location for a website, but in the hope that some day, someone
will want a particular name at which time the owner can (hopefully) sell the domain at a profit.
The original naming convention for domains included the the following main groupings, called
"top-level-domains" or "TLD's":
| Original Top Level Domains |
| .COM |
for commercial websites or businesses. This top-level domain became the defacto
standard even though many of the websites registered as .COM were not for commercial purposes.
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| .NET |
another top-level domain for businesses. Very loosely defined and utilized.
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| .ORG |
for non-profit organizations
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| .EDU |
for educatonal institutions
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There were other top-level domains implemented, such as .GOV for government, .MIL for military, etc.,
the TLD's above were the "main" ones.
As a result of the overwhelming registration of domains in these groupings, several new
‘top level domains’ (TLD) have recently been authorized (sort of like establishing new area codes to accommodate the explosion in phone numbers). These new domain levels are:
| New Top-Level Domains Available |
| .BIZ |
for business use It has a short, snappy phonetic quality which is highly attractive
in the web community, and good names are already being reserved quickly.
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| .INFO |
for sites providing information -about you, your products, or ideas.
It is a very new top level domain today's thought-leaders will be utilizing it thoroughly.
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| .US |
for any site based in the US
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.COM domains continue to represent the huge majority of website names in
use. The words "dot com" have entered into the vernacular of the global society.
As the Internet continues to expand its global presence, and its usage continues
to be ingrained in all aspects of our lives, other top level domains will become
just as familiar as "dot com".
Domain names are being reserved quickly in the new TLD's. Establishing your
own presence in the new TLD's is a window of opportunity only recently opened. Claim
your Internet real estate today.
How to choose a name that’s right for you
For executives looking for a new position, you might first try your full name.
If your name is difficult to spell, you could abbreviate the part of your name that
is giving others trouble, for example “www.ksmith.com” for Kristofer Smith, or
“www.pauls.com” for Paul Sciemanscyck.
If those alternatives are taken, you can
experiment with adding a suffix (Jr, Sr) or your middle initial or even
full middle name.
For anyone providing professional services such as consulting or accounting,
whether fulltime or on the side (or anyone considering consulting), we recommend
that you use just your last name and combine it with the words “associates”,
“partners”, “group” or other words that hint at a substantial
(and thus credible) business.
Of course if you already have a business with its own name, then that
should also be part of our domain name. If you find that the name is taken,
consider adding a suffix for your location
(www.towersgroupsf.com for a San Francisco-based consultant) or inserting a dash
or period between words (www.towers-group.com).
If you can describe your expertise in one word, you could also use it as
part of your domain (www.smithdesign.com, www.smithconsulting.com ).
Finally, try using the .biz or .info domain level.
Note: Do not register a domain name for a known product, company, or brand name. You could be prosecuted for copyright or trademark violation.
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