How to choose a domain name you won't regret

Step 1: shortlist from the business name

Start with the name people already use for you. If customers say "Hartley's", hartleys.co.uk beats bestplumberleeds.co.uk. Write five to ten candidates: the full name, a shorter form, the name plus your trade (hartleysplumbing), the name plus your town (hartleysleeds). Avoid inventing a new name just because the first choice is taken; a domain that doesn't match the business confuses people.

Step 2: the radio test

Say each candidate out loud to someone and ask them to type it. Names fail this test when they have:

Ambiguous spellings: "Kwik" or "Quick", "4" or "for", "colour" or "color".
Hyphens, which people forget to say and forget to type.
Doubled letters at the join: sweetteas reads as sweet teas or sweet eas.
Accidental words: run the letters together and read them again, slowly, before you commit.
Length: if you need to spell it out on the phone every time, it's too long.

If a name only passes with a hyphen or an odd spelling, consider also registering the version people will type by mistake and redirecting it.

Step 3: check you're allowed to use it

Search trade mark registers for the name in your industry. In the UK, use the government's trade mark search; other countries have their own registers, and the EU and international systems have theirs. A registered mark in your line of business is a reason to choose again.
Search the web and maps for businesses with the same name near you or in your field. Even without a trade mark, sharing a name with a local competitor sends you their customers' complaints.
Check company registers if you'll trade as a limited company under that name.
Check social handles you'll want. Matching handles aren't essential, but a wildly different handle weakens the name.

Step 4: choose the extension

Common domain extensions and when they fit
Extension	Fits when
.com	You sell beyond one country, or your audience assumes .com by default.
Country code (.co.uk, .de, .fr, .ie)	Your customers are mainly in one country. It signals you're local, and people there type it naturally.
.org	Charities, clubs and community groups, by convention rather than rule.
Newer extensions (.studio, .design, .shop)	The name is otherwise taken and the extension reads naturally after it. Expect some people to type .com instead.
.io, .ai, .app	Technology products. Check renewal prices, which can be much higher than .com, and any registry rules.

Keywords in the domain aren't a shortcut to ranking; search engines rank pages on their content, and a keyword-stuffed domain can look less trustworthy to people. Choose for memorability.

Step 5: register it properly

Register through an accredited registrar or a reseller of one. ICANN's page on registering a domain name explains how accreditation works for generic extensions; country codes are run by their own registries.
Register it in the business's name, or yours if you're a sole trader, never a web designer's personal account.
Use an email address you'll keep for the account, not one at the domain itself, so you can still log in if mail breaks.
Turn on auto-renew and lock the domain against transfers.
Compare renewal prices, not just the first year's offer.

Mistakes people regret

Choosing a name tied to one product or town, then expanding.
Letting a designer or agency register it in their account, then losing touch with them.
Buying a dozen variations "to be safe" and forgetting to renew the main one.
Picking a name already used by a competitor in another town, then finding they hold the trade mark.

Check before you pay

Before the checkout button: you've said the name aloud and someone typed it correctly, you've found no conflicting trade mark in your field, the extension is one your customers would guess, and the account is in your name with auto-renew on. If all four are true, buy it.

Using the domain with Anticode

Anticode doesn't sell domains: you register the name with a registrar you choose, then connect it to a published site on a paid plan by adding a DNS record. Until then, sites publish free to name.anticode.dev, which is a reasonable way to launch while you settle the name. The steps are in how to connect a custom domain, and www vs non-www covers which form of the name to use.

Questions people ask

Should I buy both .com and my country's extension?

If both are available and affordable, buying both and redirecting one to the other protects the name. If you can only have one, choose the one your customers would type.

What if the domain I want is taken?

Try the name plus your trade or town, or a different extension that reads naturally. Buying a taken domain from its owner is possible but can be expensive, so check first whether it's actually in use.

Do hyphens hurt?

They don't hurt search rankings much, but people forget them when typing and saying the name. Avoid them unless the unhyphenated version is unreadable.

Sources

GOV.UK: Search for a trade mark, checked 24 October 2026
ICANN: Registering a domain name, checked 24 October 2026