Wisdump

Dumping wisdom on design and the web

6 Important Considerations in Choosing a Good Domain Name

When setting up your website one of the most important aspects will be to choose a domain name.  It’s that domain name that will stick with you for the lifetime of your site.  You can change the template, change the purpose of the site, fire a designer, hire  a designer, but you just cannot change that domain name (unless you scrap it and do a redirect).  Finding an available domain name that you like and that is appropriate for the purpose of your site is complicated.   Here are a few things to think about when choosing a domain name:

1. Match the domain name to actual name of your site

One of the easiest and best alternatives is to get a domain name that matches the actual name of your site.  It’s a duh statement but so many people forget to match the site.  You will increase your branding as well as make it easy for visitors to remember the name of your site.  The worst thing that can happen is if people fall head over heels for your site but can not find it again simply because the domain name is not the same as the name of your site.  For example if you have a bakery site, don’t call it StubbornNelly.com.  No one will have a clue what your theme is.  Call it, TastyPastry.com, or even Anne Cookies around the corner.com.

2. Keep it short – and Keep it Simple Stupid (KISS)

Keeping the domain name short is a challenge if you are looking for a .com domain as all three and four letter words are already taken.  Yep, and all standard English words are gone too (designer.com, awesome.com).   Coming up with a name that is short will be easier to remember and pass along by word of mouth.   But remember, a domain name should however not be kept short just for the sake of keeping it short.  Do not use acronyms as a url if they look bad as an acronym.  Think of all those failed websites because people did not see different words as one word.  Like don’t come up Patterns, Octogons and Other Pics and give it POOP.com.  That’s a failed domain name.

Some great short named domains:

  • IBM.com (why call it international business machines)
  • digg.com (i dig you, you dig me)
  • Match.com (find a matching partner)

3. Use keywords

Optimizing your domain name for search engines is a big help.  In using one or two of your single most important keywords you will have better chances of getting a higher rank on the search results, thus increasing traffic.  This will not be easy, as most “natural” names already are taken.  Combine an important keyword then with something secondary. These sites came up with great names:

  • GraphicDesignBlog.com
  • TutorialMagazine.com
  • Dev-Tips.com

4. Describe your site

Your domain name is an excellent way of describing what your site is all about.  Say for example that you manage a site about fishing. Your domain name should in some way describe that fishing is exactly what your visitors will find on the site. Again, fishing is a major keyword of your site, so exploit it with a well picked domain name.

5. Avoid confusion

In general, domain names are not expensive.  Register domains with misspellings of your original domain if you want to make sure you catch most type in domain traffic.   Redirect those misspelled domains to the main website.  This is a great for sites that use hard to spell words or need to protect their brand identity. Examples:

  • Google.com
  • Googel.com
  • Gogle.com

6. Consider alternative domain extensions

If it is impossible to find a good domain name with the prefix .com you might want to consider using an alternative domain extension. Many countries have opened up their country code top level domain for international registration.  This is perhaps your chance to create the perfect domain hack. Examples:

  • Del.icio.us
  • Ma.tt
  • Designm.ag

Picking a domain name will take time, energy and some creativity from your side but its worth it in the end. The last tip is to checkout recently expired domain names at snapnames.com – many names will be awful or cost a fortune, but once in a while you will be able find a real gem at a reasonable fee.  Good luck on finding the domain of your dreams!

Originally posted on March 21, 2011 @ 3:36 pm

Internet Explorer 8 Beta Is Out

ie8.jpgMicrosoft has launched the Internet Explorer 8 Beta “for Developers and Designers”. I’m too busy to take it for a spin myself at the moment, so I’ll just settle for the online commentary for now.

A nice follow up to the rendering news earlier this week.

Have you tested it? How does your design work with it?

Originally posted on March 6, 2008 @ 10:32 pm

IE8 Renders Default By Default

ie8.jpgGood news! Microsoft have decided to make the standards compliant mode in Internet Explorer 8 the default setting! This means we won’t have to do IE specific tags to let the browser know that we want it to display in standards mode.

The what now? Default rendering modes? What? Ina Fried explains:

With IE8, Microsoft plans to have three rendering modes: the new standards-compliant mode, the IE7 rendering engine, as well as an option for displaying older Web sites. Because of the default shift, Web sites that want IE8 to use its IE7 engine will have to add a tag to their site’s code.

Word has it we’ll get an IE8 beta in a few months time. Maybe IE8 will be what finally kills IE6? Hardly.

Originally posted on March 5, 2008 @ 3:46 am

Yes, IE5 is Dead Already!

Matt Harzewski of Webmaster-Source asks if Internet Explorer 5 is dead, and does a nice little bullet list of things that have happened since 1998 (which is funny since IE5 launched in 1999, which he also notes).

9 years is serious time for a web browser. There is no excuse for IE5 to exist anymore.

Luckily, it just about doesn’t. On my Swedish sites I’ve got 0% IE5 visitors, and on the international ones it’s below 0.15%.

In other words, IE5 is dead. Now please kill IE6. Thank you.

Originally posted on February 27, 2008 @ 9:42 pm

The Ethics Of Outsourcing Web Development

So you have decided to hop aboard the freelance web developer’s train and ride it to your millions. You read all of the prerequisites like SitePoint and the new must-reads like Freelance Switch. You scoured the job boards around the net and have finally connected with your first client only to run into a major roadblock; one part of the project requires you to build something that you don’t know how to do. It doesn’t matter if it is as pointless as Flash or as crucial as an application written in a particular language. As developers, we can’t possibly specialize in every known technology, yet as a freelancer, you will often find yourself in the position of not having the full set of skills necessary to complete the job.

Outsourcing To The Rescue

Like in all sectors of the modern economy, outsourcing is becoming a major force to be reckoned with. And while I won’t go into detail about why I think the United States and Europe should stop freaking out about this phenomenon, it is clear that this could give the average freelancer a huge edge. Suddenly, you can cost effectively hire yourself a team when need be, but maintain your freelance status. It is like having temporary employees working for you, but only when you need them. The savings potential is massive and meanwhile you can pass yourself off as the most versatile freelancer out there.

But here is the dilemma: Should you tell your client that you outsourced a component of their project?

The Ethical Dilemma

You could easily not tell your client that you had to outsource a part of their project. Meanwhile, things go off without a hitch and everyone is happy. Unless of course something goes wrong with that piece and you don’t know how to service it. Then again, you could always outsource the fixing of the issue. The point is, this could continue and your client would never know the difference and you still look like the whiz kid.

Just like in any other economic sector, everyone will be reaping the benefits of this outsourcing. You will look like a true professional, your client will be happy about your relatively low prices (compared, to say, a boutique designer), and the end user will get that well designed, well functioning website that they came looking for. You aren’t necessarily obligated to tell anyone how your development process went.

Potential Pitfalls In Outsourcing

This is not to say that you won’t run into problems. The real issue will be finding a company to outsource to that is reliable and produces excellent results. There are tons of these services out there, located everywhere from India (where else) to Illinois and choosing the right one is no small task. In his ebook, Outsourcing Web Projects: 6 Steps to a Smarter Business, Dave Hecker puts it well:

“Remember that there are no barriers to entering the web development business. Any person from anywhere in the world can simply say “I’m a web developer” and start bidding on jobs. As a result, there are large numbers of inexperienced and unqualified vendors in the web design industry, and most of them lack the experience to execute your project properly”

Overall, outsourcing can be an invaluable tool for a web developer and is an option that should not be shrugged off. At the same time, you cannot ignore the potential problems and should always do some research about the company you are interested in. Either way, you can end up looking like a true professional. How do you feel about outsourcing your work?

This article was written by J David Macor.

Originally posted on September 19, 2007 @ 6:00 am