How to choose a domain for a company, online store or website? Frequently asked questions and practical advice.

Your own domain is not only a name, but also the rights to use it, its history, and building value. Find out how much a domain costs, how to choose a domain name, check its availability, and how to register it.

Choosing a domain is an important step, so it is worth considering before making a choice. It is not about the cost, as buying a domain, especially for 1 year, is a small expense, but the value that we will give it by using it for many years.

• What is a domain?
• How to check if a domain is free?
• Which domain to choose?
• How to register a domain?
• How much does a domain cost?
• Is it worth buying a domain?
• What else should you remember when registering a domain?

What is a domain?

A domain is an internet address in the form of a name, which allows us to find, for example, a website or an online store. It is also used for email, FTP connections, and many other services.

A domain requires registration and setting up on a server for it to work properly. It is worth remembering that only "free" domains can be registered.

With www or without?

When registering a domain, we do not use "www" e.g. example.com instead of www.example.com. In the browser, we often enter the name with www e.g. www.example.com, but it is good practice for the domain to work both with www and without, e.g. www.example.com and example.com.

SSL certificate. With https or http?

If the address in the browser starts with https://, it means that the domain has an additional SSL certificate assigned to it. The certificate is purchased independently of the domain and requires appropriate settings on the server.

It is recommended to always use SSL certificates for the domain and additionally add a redirect so that the page address entered with http:// redirects the user to the encrypted page with https://, for example, after entering http://www.example.com the page https://www.example.com should appear.

How to check if a domain is free?

The simplest way to check if a domain is free is to enter the name in the browser. If some page appears, then the domain is definitely taken and has already been registered. However, if it does not appear, it does not mean that we can register it. Some domains are taken but are not assigned to any server, or simply nothing is displayed at this address.

Domain with .pl ending

To check if we can register a domain with the .pl ending (.pl stands for Poland) we can go to the page https://www.dns.pl/whois and enter the domain name.

If the information "No domain information in the Registry database" appears - this will mean that no one has previously registered this domain and we can register it.

International domain

If we want to check a domain with an ending other than .pl, e.g. .com .net .org .info .io .de .cz .it etc. we can check the availability of the name, e.g. on the page: https://www.name.com/domain/search

There are many different domain registration and verification services. Such services are often available on the hosting company's website.

Which domain to choose?

To choose a domain, we must take into account 3 elements:

• Domain ending
• Domain name
• Other domains similar to the chosen name

Domain ending

If we want to reach people in Poland, the first choice is a domain with the .pl ending or .com.pl - it is best to buy both addresses, even if we will only use one.

If our page is to have a global reach, it is good to choose a domain with an extension that does not refer to a specific country, such as .com .net .info .org .io .auto .fm etc.Check the list of domain endings: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Internet_top-level_domains

Subdomains

If we have a registered domain, e.g. example.com, then subdomains such as shop.example.com can be created without separate registration. Having a domain, we have access to any of our own subdomains. The option to add a new subdomain is usually available in the administrative panel of the website hosting.

Company or website name

The most important element of the domain is the name. It can be the name of the company, e.g. sote.pl or the name of the website/shop/product, e.g. soteshop.pl. When choosing a company or website name, it is worth knowing that customers can easily find the company in the search engine thanks to such a name.

Attention! Do not register domains with the names of other companies, as if we do not have the right to use such a name, we may lose the domain.

Case in domain

The case in the domain does not matter. It does not matter whether we enter example.com or Example.com, for the browser and other systems it is the same domain.

Polish letters

It is possible to register a domain with Polish letters, however due to the limitations of many computer systems and user habits, it is not recommended to use such domains.

Keywords in the domain

Attention! Do not buy domains with keywords for SEO purposes. Algorithms determining the position in search results do not take this element into account.

Simple name

The name should be as short and easy to pronounce as possible, ideally if it is one word. If shorter domains are taken or we want to use several words, we can combine them, e.g. modaexample.com, but we should not use more than 2-3 words.

Hyphen and numbers in the domain name

In many guides, in one row, prohibited elements of the domain are listed: Polish letters, hyphens, keywords, several words, numbers, etc. Not much is left then;) All these elements are allowed, but each should be analyzed separately.

Often the only limitation is that someone may confuse the address. How to deal with it? Register a similar domain, in case of user error.

List of additional domain suggestions depending on the element in the domain:

• Number - numerically and verbally.
• Hyphen - domain with hyphen and without
• Several words together - domain with words separated by hyphens
• Polish letters - domain without Polish letters and vice versa (however, it should be remembered that the domain without Polish letters should be the main domain)
• Double letters - domain with a single letter e.g. pianissimo and pianisimo

How to register a domain?

The simplest and best choice is to register with the hosting company where we have purchased the maintenance of the website or online store. Thanks to this, we do not have to deal with the technical side of domain registration and we can use it immediately after registration.

The domain does not appear automatically after submission. Some systems activate domains practically within an hour, others require waiting from 1 to several days.

How much does a domain cost?

In most cases, domains must be paid for annually. Many companies offer a domain at a very low price or free for 1 year. Therefore, it is necessary to separately calculate the costs for the purchase of the domain and separately the fees for the next year.

Example prices for registering and extending a domain with the .pl extension:

• Registration: 15 PLN net (18.45 PLN gross)
• Extension for another year: 140 PLN net (172 PLN gross)

The costs should also include SSL certificate (cost around 100-200 PLN) - this is an element required for each active domain.

If we have several domains, even if we do not use them, we also have to pay for them in order not to lose the rights to them.

Is it worth buying a domain?

In most cases, it is not worth it. Prices for reselling rights to a domain can range from several to several tens of thousands of PLN, although there is no upper limit.

Even if the domain has a high position in the search engine, it is likely that after changing the content on the pages, this position will drop. If there are contents from another industry under the domain, it is even worse, because then the indexing systems will remember the previous category.

It is best to choose a free domain and build its value yourself.

What else should you remember when registering a domain?

We register a domain for many years. The longer we have it, the more value it has for search. It is not only the time since registration that counts, but also the history and experiences of customers after entering the page. Whether what is on it is interesting, whether it fits the search, etc. These are elements that affect the value of the domain that we are building every day.

If we have one service and several domains, let's choose one address and promote it. Redirects to the main address can be added to the rest. An exception is another language version of the website or online store. Then you can use another domain with a different extension - for example www.sote.pl and www.soteshop.com

Related Pages

• SOTESHOP Online Store
• Implementation Examples