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How to choose a domain name: a practical checklist

Last checked: Oct 20, 2026

A domain name is hard to change later: it ends up on business cards, in links, in search results and in every e-mail address. A few minutes of checking before you register saves an expensive rename.

In short

  • Pick a name that is short, easy to say out loud and hard to misspell.
  • Use .com for an international audience or your country's extension for a local one; choose a newer extension only if it really fits the name.
  • Check trademarks and the domain's history before you buy.
  • Register it in your own account, with auto-renew, a transfer lock and two-factor sign-in.

Good name, bad name

  • Keep it short: names under about 15 characters are easy to type and remember.
  • Pass the “phone test”: when you say the name on the phone, people can type it without asking how it is spelled.
  • Avoid hyphens and digits (is it “4” or “four”?) and the same letter repeated where two words meet.
  • Read the words together: harmless words can form something unwanted once they are written as one.
  • If the business may grow, do not tie the name too closely to a city, a single product or a year.
  • Names with accented letters (ü, é, ñ) are possible, but many people type the plain version. If you use one, register both.

Which extension?

Look at the renewal price, not just the first-year price; “premium” names renew at premium prices every year.

ExtensionWhen it fits
.comInternational audience; the extension people type by default. Most short words are taken, so check variations.
Country code (.de, .fr, .co.uk, .com.tr…)Local audience; signals your market and is often preferred by local users. Some have residence or presence requirements.
.net / .org.org for associations, charities and communities; .net is accepted but less memorable.
.io, .dev, .app, .ai and othersTech products. .dev and .app are on the HSTS preload list, so sites only work over HTTPS. Some renew at much higher prices.

Before you buy

  • Search trademarks in your markets, for example in the WIPO Global Brand Database or your national trademark office. A domain that infringes a trademark can be lost through the UDRP.
  • Check the history: the Wayback Machine (web.archive.org) shows what was published before. A domain once used for spam can be on blocklists and have a poor e-mail reputation.
  • Look the domain up: if it is registered, see when it expires; in redemptionPeriod or pendingDelete it may become available soon.
  • Check social media handles: is the same name free on the platforms you need?

Registering it the right way

  • Register the domain in your own or your company's name and account, not your web agency's.
  • Turn on auto-renew and keep a valid payment method; expired domains are snapped up quickly.
  • Keep the transfer lock on and enable two-factor authentication at the registrar.
  • Consider registering common typos and the .com or country-code variant as well, redirecting them to your main domain.
  • Add the domain to Watch to be alerted before it expires and whenever something changes.

Search with whoistool

  • Domain check: type the name without an extension to check the popular extensions at once.
  • Look up a specific domain to see who registered it and when it expires.
  • Domain age compares the creation and expiry dates of up to 10 domains.

Sources

This guide summarizes public information and is not legal advice. Rules can change; the official texts and announcements prevail.

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