One of the first stages in website design is picking a custom website domain. Choosing the right domain for your website is serious business. Like a trademarked business, your website domain serves many purposes and should ideally be catchy, easy to read and fitting to your brand’s overall tone. Because no two websites can share the same domain, it can be difficult to settle on a name; nonetheless, a situation that can be easily resolved.

In regards to utility, a website domain allows you to do two main things. First of all, your domain is the address through which your website will be found, thus making it crucial for it to be clear and understandable. If you want customers to find you, having a simple domain like johnsbakery.com will create ease for customers. Secondly, if you want to upgrade your game with personalised emails, the domain you choose will be displayed at the end of your email address. In the case of this website, the address is designbysebastian.com, and my email address is sebastian@designbysebastian.com.

Which domain you choose is overwhelmingly your choice, and unless it is already taken, choosing your domain comes in two halves. The first half of your domain is the second-level domain; this half contains the main words you choose to incorporate, in my case designbysebastian. The second half of your domain is the top-level domain, this is the part ending in .com, .org., .net or whatever you choose. Usually, if you’re trying to be seen, .com is recommended because of its commonality, otherwise, your country end-domain, such as .co.uk or .au is also recommended, as it too is common and also indicates where you are set.

Other times, if you’re trying to stand out in a particularly bold fashion, some businesses choose to end their domains in something more unique. Possible other top-level domains include .net, .org, .co, .blog, .shop., .eu., .edu., .io, and an endless list of other domains. These also hold importance if the domain name you want is taken. For example, if johnsbakery.com is taken, you would likely find johnsbakery.co is available.

If you’re ready to take action and choose to work with me for a new website (a wise decision), choosing your domain should be a swift process, leaving me to do the hard work, while giving you all the ease and freedom to choose whichever domain you want.