Domain name

You’ve probably heard that “all the good domain names are taken,” but that’s just not the case. However, domain names are getting longer and harder to read at a glance. Make your site’s URL easy for visitors to read and remember by emphasizing it online and in your printed literature.

Domain name options increased dramatically when the allowed length increased from 22 to 63 characters (not including the extensions). Although most one and two-word domain names got snapped up years ago, the longer domain names gave online companies and groups many more choices when selecting an online identity. For instance, small businesses with longer names often want to register their entire company name or slogan. Imagine this domain name for my unusually versatile company: mendozaandsonsreptiletaxidermyandchainsawrepair.com

Now, that’s pretty illegible when written in all lower-case letters—hard to tell where the “taxidermy” stops and the “chain saw repair” begins. It would be way too easy for someone to misspell the domain name, get a DNS error, and conclude that the business had folded. One alternative is to separate each word with dashes inside the domain name like this: mendoza-and-sons-reptile-taxidermy-and-chainsaw-repair.com

That’s a little easier to read, but harder to remember and share with others since many people aren’t used to dashes in domain names yet. Domain name changes can be expensive too. You have to purchase the new domain name, alter printed materials, get reciprocal links changed, and update search engine and directory listings.

That’s a daunting list of tasks, but fortunately there’s an easier way: capitalize the individual words in the domain name. That baffling jumble of letters suddenly becomes legible:

MendozaAndSonsReptileTaxidermyAndChainsawRepair.com

Although capitalization makes your URL more readable both on and offline, many people mistakenly believe that domain names are always capital letter sensitive. Actually, it depends on server configuration; the vast majority of servers ignore capitalization. For instance, you can view the Verizon Pacifica home page by typing in any combination of upper and lower-case letters:

http://www.VZPacifica.net

http://www.VZPACIFICA.net

http://www.vzPACIFICA.net

However, individual file and directory names are often capital letter sensitive. Again, it depends on server configuration. For safety, avoid similar directory and file names, like one directory named “images” and another named “Images.” It could confuse both you and your server!

Once you’ve found a good legible format for your domain name, look for ways to use it to promote your site. Don’t forget other forms of advertising.

Always add your URL to printed materials and mention it in radio and TV ads.

Think of all the emails you send out each week. Of course you sign your name, but have you added your site’s URL to the signature portion of your email program?

Mendoza is Systems Administrator of Verizon.