How to choose a domain name for your business
Your domain name — the yourbusiness.co.uk part — is your permanent address on the web, and changing it later is disruptive and bad for SEO. So it's worth getting right the first time. The good news: a few simple principles cover most of it. Here's how to choose a domain that's memorable, credible and won't hold you back.
The principles of a good domain
- Memorable and simple — easy to say, spell and type.
- Brandable — it can grow with you and stand out.
- Short-ish — shorter is easier to remember and less error-prone.
- Easy to spell — avoid anything you'd have to spell out loud.
- No confusion — steer clear of tricky hyphens and numbers.
.co.uk or .com?
For a UK business serving UK customers, .co.uk is well understood, trusted and often available when .com isn't — it signals you're a UK business, which can help. .com is the global default and worth having if you can, especially if you might expand internationally. Many businesses buy both (and point one at the other) to protect the brand. Newer endings (.io, .studio, .shop) can work for the right brand but are less instantly familiar to the general public.
What to avoid
- Hyphens and numbers — "best-web-4-you" is hard to say and looks spammy.
- Clever misspellings people won't remember or will mistype.
- Anything that's awkward to read run together (check for unfortunate word joins).
- Trademarks or names too close to an existing business.
Before you buy
- Check it's free as a social media handle too, for consistency.
- Make sure it doesn't clash with an existing trademark or business.
- Consider buying the obvious variations (.com and .co.uk) to protect the brand.
- Register it in your own name/account, so you own it — not your developer's.
Owning it properly
Whoever registers the domain, make sure it's in your name and account, and that you can log in to the registrar. Businesses regularly discover, at the worst moment, that a developer or agency holds their domain. It's your address on the web — it should be yours, fully under your control, from day one.
Common questions
How do I choose a good domain name?
Pick something memorable, simple to say and spell, brandable and fairly short, avoiding hyphens, numbers and tricky spellings. For a UK business, .co.uk or .com both work well. Prioritise a name that's easy to remember and represents your brand over one stuffed with keywords — the brand matters far more long term.
Should I use .co.uk or .com?
For a UK business serving UK customers, .co.uk is trusted, familiar and often available — and it signals you're UK-based. .com is the global default and worth having if you may expand or can get it. Many businesses buy both to protect the brand and point one at the other. Either is a solid, credible choice.
Do keywords in a domain name help SEO?
Barely, and not enough to justify an awkward name. Exact-match keyword domains used to help more, but Google has long since reduced their weight, and they often look spammy and dated. A memorable, brandable domain serves you far better over time than something like "cheap-plumber-leeds.co.uk".
Who should own my domain name?
You should — registered in your own name or your company's, in an account you can log into. Never let a developer or agency register it solely under their account, or you may struggle to get control later. Your domain is your address on the web; make sure it's genuinely yours from the start.
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Whether you've got a clear brief or just an idea, tell us what you have in mind and we'll give you an honest recommendation — even if that's a smaller project than you expected.