Guides
How to choose a domain name for your business
Short answer
Pick a name that's short, easy to say out loud and easy to spell, ideally the same as your business name. Avoid hyphens, numbers and words people misspell. Use .com if you sell broadly, or your country's extension if your customers are local. Before buying, check that nobody has a trademark on it and that social media handles are free. Register it in your own name, turn on auto-renewal and keep the contact email up to date.
Key points
- Short, clear and easy to dictate over the phone beats clever and long.
- Choose .com or your country's extension based on where your customers are.
- Check trademarks and social media handles before you pay.
- The domain must be registered in your name or your company's, never someone else's.
- Auto-renewal and a working contact email keep you from losing it.
What makes a good domain name
Your domain is your address on the internet and the part after the @ in your email. You'll say it on the phone, print it on invoices and paint it on the van. A good one is easy to remember after hearing it once.
Try the phone test: say the name to someone and ask them to type it. If they hesitate or ask how it's spelled, keep looking.
- Short and simple. Two or three easy words at most.
- Same as or close to your business name, so people connect the two.
- No hyphens or numbers, which people forget or confuse (is it 4 or four?).
- No words that are often misspelled or that read badly when joined together.
- Not tied to something that may change, like a single product or a street name.
Which extension to choose
The extension is the ending, like .com or .mx. There are hundreds. In practice, the choice is usually between .com and your country's extension, with others as a backup.
| Extension | When it makes sense | Keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| .com | You sell in several countries or want the best-known ending | It's the most requested, so short names are often taken. |
| Country (.mx, .co.uk, .de, .fr…) | Your customers are mainly in one country | It tells people you're local. Some countries ask for requirements to register. |
| .net | Your .com is taken and the name is important to you | Less familiar to customers. People may type .com by habit. |
| .co | Short, modern brands | It's Colombia's extension and is easily confused with .com. |
| Industry endings (.shop, .studio…) | Creative brands or a second domain for a campaign | Some people don't recognize them as web addresses. |
Checks before you buy
- Search for availabilityType the name in a domain search tool to see which extensions are free.
- Say it out loudDo the phone test with two or three people, ideally not family who already know your business.
- Check trademarksLook up the name in your country's trademark office database. Using someone else's brand can cost you the domain later.
- Look at social mediaSee if the same name is free on the networks you use, so everything matches.
- Search the name on GoogleMake sure it isn't linked to another business, a scandal or a meaning you don't want, including in other languages.
Register it in your name and protect it
Many businesses discover too late that their domain was registered by a former web designer, a nephew or an employee. If the account isn't yours, the domain isn't really yours either. Whoever pays for it, the registered owner should be you or your company.
- Use your own account and your company's details as the owner.
- Turn on auto-renewal. An expired domain takes down your website and your email at the same time.
- Keep the contact email current, and preferably not one that depends on that same domain.
- If it makes sense, also register your country's extension and the most common misspelling.
- Save your access details somewhere safe that more than one trusted person can reach.
If the name you want is taken
It happens a lot with short .com names. Before paying a lot for a name someone else owns, consider simple alternatives. You can add a word that describes you, like your trade or your city (lunabakery.com, lunabakerymadrid.com). You can use your country's extension if your customers are local. Or you can add a short verb, like get or try.
Avoid names that look like an existing brand in your field. Besides the legal risk, your customers may end up at the other business.
Domain, hosting and email: how they fit together
The domain is the address. Hosting is the space where your website lives. Email with your domain lets you write from sales@yourbusiness.com instead of a free address. They can be with different companies, but managing them in one place makes renewals and changes much easier.
With Autorys you search for your domain live at autorys.net or from your panel, among more than 600 extensions such as .com, .com.mx, .mx, .net or .co, and register it right there. You can also renew it or transfer it from another provider. Every domain registered with Autorys comes with 2 email mailboxes included, and hosting comes with an automatic HTTPS certificate at no extra cost.
Frequently asked questions
Should I choose .com or my country's extension?
If your customers are mostly in one country, its extension tells them you're local and is often easier to get. If you sell in several countries, .com is the safest choice. When you can, register both and point one to the other, so nobody else takes the version you didn't use.
Should my domain include keywords like my trade or city?
Only if it stays short and natural, or if your name alone is taken. Your business name is easier to remember and grows with you. Keywords in the domain don't replace good content: what helps you show up on Google is what your pages say and how well they work.
Can I change my domain later?
Yes, but it takes work. You'll need to redirect the old address to the new one, update your Google profile, social media, cards and signage, and move your email. That's why it's worth choosing carefully at the start and keeping the old domain active for a while after any change.
How do I register my domain with Autorys?
Search for the name at autorys.net or in your Autorys panel; the search tool shows live which extensions are free. You register and pay from your panel, and 2 mailboxes come included. If you have questions, Karla, Autorys' AI assistant, answers and quotes you on the spot by WhatsApp, chat or Telegram.
