How do you choose a domain name?

What makes a good domain name

• Short and easy to say. If you have to spell it out on a call, it will be mistyped.
• Unambiguous spelling. Avoid words people spell differently, and double letters at word boundaries.
• No hyphens or numbers, which are hard to say and easy to forget.
• Your brand, not a keyword string. Exact-match keyword domains no longer give a search advantage on their own.
• Room to grow. A name tied to one product or city can feel narrow later.

Which extension?

• .com is still the default people assume and type.
• A country code, such as .cz, .de or a country-code extension, signals a local business and is trusted locally.
• Newer extensions such as .io, .app, .dev or .ai are common for tech products. .app and .dev require HTTPS by default because they are on the browser HSTS preload list.
• Search engines treat generic extensions equally. Country codes signal a target country.

Check before you buy

• Trademarks: search the trademark databases in your markets, such as EUIPO, USPTO and your national office, for the name and close variants.
• Social handles and app store names: inconsistent handles cost recognition.
• History: an expired domain may carry spam history or penalties. Look it up in web archives and search.
• Similar domains: if a competitor or an unrelated site owns a near-identical name, you will receive their visitors and they will receive yours.

After you buy

• Turn on auto-renewal and keep the payment card current.
• Use a strong password and two-factor authentication on the registrar account.
• Turn on registrar lock to prevent unauthorised transfers.
• Keep WHOIS privacy where available, so personal details are not public.
• Decide whether the canonical address is www or the bare domain, and redirect the other to it.

Register the domain in your company's name and an account the company controls, not a freelancer's or a single employee's personal account.

What a scan can and cannot tell you

WebAuditOS checks how your chosen domain is set up for the site: HTTPS, a redirect from HTTP, and canonicals that point at your own host rather than a preview or old domain.

It does not check trademarks, availability, registrar settings or renewal dates.

The most expensive domain mistake is an expired registration. Put the renewal date in a calendar even with auto-renewal on.

Short answers

Is .com still the best? For a global audience, usually. For a local business, the country code is equally good.

Do keywords in the domain help SEO? Very little now. A memorable brand is worth more.

How much does a domain cost? Typically around 10 to 20 dollars or euros a year for common extensions. Premium names cost more.

Should I buy typo domains? For an established brand, a few common misspellings redirected to the main site can help.