How to Choose The Best Domain Name for eCommerce Website

Are you struggling to choose a perfect domain name for your online store? This blog helps you find the best domain name for an eCommerce website.

A domain name is extremely important for your business as it represents your brand identity and how people remember you.

Although domain registration is easy, the steps leading up to the registration could be tricky. In fact, it is one of the most daunting parts of your entire website-building experience. With over 360 million domains registered globally, finding a unique one is always hard.

That is why we have put together this advanced guide where we’ll walk you through the steps to register the perfect domain name for your business.

Have you read our previous blog on how to find a business name idea for your eCommerce store? There we discussed extensively the steps to find the perfect name for your business. Today we’re revealing the next part of that series on finding the best domain name for your eCommerce website.

Let’s start by answering the obvious-

Basic Considerations for Choosing The Best Domain Name for eCommerce Websites

At present the domain adoption rate is high. There are people who do business by buying domain names. So they can sell them at a high price later. This is one of the reasons why you have to be very careful while choosing a domain name.

In a study published by Namecheap, 54 percent of domain name owners have two to more than 100 domain names.

A bad domain name will make you hard to find and also impossible for customers to remember you. But a good domain name will affect your branding, visibility, search rankings, and more. Also, while choosing a domain name, remember that a good domain name-

• Spreads the word about your business
• Attracts walk-in traffic
• Gives a professional feel to your business
• Inspires curiosity, which can convert into a sale.

Domain names have become potent tools for business. That is why people easily remember Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Instagram, etc. They search for these terms unconsciously.

But before your choose your domain name, you need to understand how domain names works and their types and differences.

Understanding Domain Names – Types and Differences

You can choose the best domain name for an eCommerce website after you understand how the domain works and how it is categorized.

Let’s take “www.facebook.com” for example. Here there are three types of Domains,

• www: It stands for World Wide Web. It is the server name used for websites and also refers to all the public websites or pages that users can access on their local computers and other devices through the internet.
• facebook: This is the second level domain (SLD) and it is basically the name of your website. It should be personalized for your business. This is where you have to add your chosen domain name.
• .com: This is the top-level domain (TLD). You have to register TLD along with SLD. It will count as part of your unique web address. There are many TLDs, including .com, .net, .org and more.

Different Types of Domain – Should You Choose Only a .com Domain?

“.com”, “.net”, “gov”, etc are called domain extensions. You have to add your domain name beforehand to create a business name like www.yourbusiness.com.

You have to understand the differences between the TLDs as there are many of them. Like,

• .city: A good option for brick-n-mortar businesses in a specific city, for example, .london or .boston.

• .country: A solid choice for retailers who want to reach international markets.

• .co: This is a global alternative to .com for all languages and cultures.

• .org: If you have a non-profit business, .org will help you stand out. 

• .shop: This is a good alternative for eCommerce websites because it’s clear and concise.

• .store: A good option for small business owners and online retailers.

• .trade: A good choice for wholesalers or B2B eCommerce stores.

Some TLDs, like .gov and .mil, can only be registered by specifically authorized parties such as the government or military. Other TLDs are country-specific, like .uk for the United Kingdom or .fr for France.

TLD makes up part of your root domain. If you type  www.mazda.com it brings you to the Mazda automobile website, but www.mazda.net brings you to a French electric heating and ventilation manufacturer. That is why you will see that businesses register multiple domains to prevent others from purchasing the same domain.

So before you register a domain-

• Check if any other .com name similar to your brand is in use or not
• But if the .com name you want is taken, don’t simply pick the same name under an alternate TLD unless you’ve carefully evaluated your options and checked where the .com domain leads
• You need to make an extra effort to choose a descriptive, memorable domain name. (we will show you how in the next section).

All said and done, there is still one question that remains, should you try to purchase the most popular TLD “.com”?

Most people think that “.com” is the default TLD and try to register their eCommerce business name with this extension. They think that choosing .com TLD will give them an edge for search results and ranking. But, this is, however, changing.

Google doesn’t favor any TLD over another. On the contrary, Google has stated that you’re free to exercise more creativity when choosing a domain for your online store. You could even use a TLD that’s part of the name of your business, like a movie store called American Classic Video choosing www.americanclassic.video for their domain.

All in all, it doesn’t matter whether you use the “.com” domain or not. Just make sure you choose a domain that represents your brand. This brings us to this next section.

8 Actionable Tips to Choose the Best Domain Name for Your eCommerce Business

We have established the importance of choosing the perfect domain name and how tricky it is to find the right name. But don’t worry, we are going to share some tips that will help you find the best domain name for your eCommerce business. Let’s go-

1. Make The Name Unique & Brandable
2. Keep It Short & Easy to Memorize
3. Choose a Domain Extension Close to Your Industry
4. Avoid Hyphens and Special Characters
5. Try to Choose .com TLD if Possible
6. Include Keywords Only if It Makes Sense
7. Make Your Domain Name Mobile Friendly
8. Don’t Copy to Avoid Legal Issues

1. Make The Name Unique & Brandable

It is essential to add your brand name to your domain name as 77% of buyers buy items from brands they are familiar with. If you are a professional then you know how challenging it is to find the right domain name. But if you are clinging to getting a .com domain, then believe me you are losing out.

We already told you that getting a .com domain will ensure search engine results. So choose a TLD that represents your business. For example, “.shop” is a great TLD for an eCommerce business. Suppose your business name is aythaskincare. If you choose the aythaskincare.shop, it will represent your business perfectly.

At the time of writing this, this domain name is available. This domain is great to use because,

• It represents your business
• The name is not taken
• It proves that it is an eCommerce business.

2. Keep the Name Short & Easy to Memorize

After you are locked in the TLD, then you have to make sure your domain is short, simple, and memorable. Your aim should be

• Keep your domain name under 15 characters
• Avoid slang (ie, don’t use “U” instead of “you”)
• Avoid words with complex spelling and meanings.

For example, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s online store could have used thelacountymuseumofartstore.org. Do you see something off here? Besides the domain being too long—not the best look for a brand selling stuff online. 

Instead, the brand chose thelacmastore. org—a short, sweet, pronounceable domain name people will remember.

Also, if people don’t remember your domain name after hearing it once, then you don’t have a great domain name. Suppose you have a homemade clothes business. But there is no .com, .co, or .net domain name available. Instead of going for any other brand name, try to find a .store TLD.

This way you don’t have to lose your brand name and make it memorable as well.

3. Choose a Domain Extension Close to Your Industry

You will find many eCommerce brands use something like “.co.UK” at the end of their domain. That means they are targeting customers in the United Kingdom. If you use “.ca”, that means the customers are based in Canada. And Google, Bing, and other search engines classify websites according to their TLD.

So, if you are an eCommerce store, you are better off using a “.store” TLD. That way the search engines understand that you are an eCommerce store and so do your customers. If you use “www.sweets.com” that could mean anything. But “www.sweet.store” means you are selling sweets and sweet-related items.

4. Avoid Hyphens and Special Characters

You need to make your brand name memorable not confusing. That is why you need to avoid hyphens (the-itstore.com) , abbreviations (the-itstore4u.com), double-lettered words (thee-ittstore.com), or combining words and numbers (the-8tstore.com).

Moreover, avoiding these special characters also makes your domain name mobile-friendly. Because when you add numbers or special characters then the users have to switch between their keyboards. This will result in more misspellings, typos, and other mistakes.

5. Try to Choose .com TLD if Possible

Yes yes, we have repeatedly told you that it doesn’t matter which TLD you choose as long as it represents your brand. So, the headline might confuse you.

But it is also a fact that 78% of businesses use the “.com” extension. Many smartphones also have a “.com” key, which makes it easier to type your domain name. So it is safe to say that the “.com” extension is more credible and popular. If you can choose a “.com” extension that will be really good.

But it is not the end of the world if you don’t get one. As we said earlier, choosing a “.store” or “.shop” domain can also prove to be fruitful for you. Also, if you are targeting a specific country like UK or Canada, then you can choose the “.uk” or “.ca” extensions as well.

6. Include Keywords in the Domain Name, Only if it Makes Sense

You need to try to add some keywords to your domain name. But only if it makes sense and comes naturally. Don’t force it just because you have to. The best way to add a keyword to your domain name is by adding the name of the product you are selling. Suppose you are selling clothes. And your brand name is Diane. So you can use a domain name like [Diane]+[Clothing]= dianeclothing.com.

The formula is , [brand name] + [broad keyword] = [domain name].

Don’t go overboard. Stick to one or two keywords. More can feel spammy and ruin your brand name.

A great example of this comes from Verve Coffee Roasters, a coffee brand from Santa Cruz, California. It chose the domain name vervecoffee.com, which covers both brand and broad keywords and is memorable and relatable for site visitors. 

7. Make Your Domain Name Mobile Friendly

According to Statista, 52 % of all internet traffic comes from mobile devices, so you want to position your domain name for that audience. As we said earlier, avoid using special characters for your eCommerce business name. Don’t make it hard for users to type your domain name and then get the name wrong.

That is also one of the reasons why you have to go for a short and memorable domain name. Lengthy domain names with special characters lend themselves to autocorrect changes. Think of names like marthastewarth.com or comic-con.org. Those names are awesome in themselves, but they leave a chance for typos.

The best practice is testing on mobile devices before you lock in your domain name. This is a very simple but effective usability test to choose the best domain name for an eCommerce business.

8. Don’t Copy to Avoid Legal Issues

Last but not the least, make sure your chosen domain name is not a copy of any other existing domain name or registered to any other trademarks. You followed all our steps to create the perfect domain name only to end up giving up due to the name is already a registered trademark, isn’t worth it.

You can use the  United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and  World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to check if the domain name you have chosen is used by any other businesses.

Here are some additional tips to find the perfect domain name,

• If you have the budget, buy an existing domain name if it looks relevant
• If you are stuck, use a domain name generator to generate relevant names
• Use phrases and saying to generate domain names.

These are the strategies you can use to find the perfect domain name for an eCommerce business.

Bonus: What to Do If You Want to Change Your Domain Name

After reading the guide, if you are thinking of changing your domain name then this section is for you. Users are often confused when they want to change their domain name. Millions of questions come to their minds, like whether will they lose their content, traffics, brand value, etc.

Switching a website’s domain name can be a struggle for many bloggers and business owners, especially if they have no idea where to start. Well, in order to change the domain name while keeping the content, you need to take the following steps,

Make Sure Your Know Why You are Changing Your Domain Name

Have you found another great domain name that suits your eCommerce business perfectly? Are you moving to a “.co, .net, .store” extension? Maybe you are trying to move to a shorter domain name from the previous longer one?

Whatever it is, make sure you know what you are doing. Otherwise, you will doubt yourself in every step.

Backup Your Website Content

This is a very important part of changing your domain name. You need to back up your website content so you don’t lose them while changing your domain name. Backing up your website content depends on what platform you are using. If you are using a WordPress site then there are many backup plugins that will help you.

Or if you are using any other platform, you can talk to your hosting provider. They will help you keep a backup of your website.

Save Your Backup File to Various Places

Download your backup file to your computer. But don’t just keep it on your computer. If you have any cloud storage, keep your backup file there as well. That way you won’t lose anything if your device goes awol. There are many stories out there of people losing years of work because they didn’t have redundancies in place before transitioning to a new domain.

Find Out if Your Current Host Has Transferred Features

Before booking another hosting company, find out if your current hosting offers any option to change your domain name through them. If your existing domain host doesn’t offer easy migration options, you can always sign up for a new host and book/purchase their services ahead of time.

So, these are the steps you need to take before changing your domain name without losing your content.

The Best Domain Name for eCommerce Website FAQs

Last Piece of Advice Before You Go

So you have the knowledge of finding the best domain name for an eCommerce website. Let’s give a quick overview of the tips to get the best domain name for your eCommerce website-

1. Make The Name Unique & Brandable
2. Keep It Short & Easy to Memorize
3. Choose a Domain Extension Close to Your Industry
4. Avoid Hyphens and Special Characters
5. Try to Choose .com TLD if Possible
6. Include Keywords Only if It Makes Sense
7. Make Your Domain Name Mobile Friendly
8. Don’t Copy to Avoid Legal Issues

Remember, if you spend too much time dwelling on your decision, you’re taking time away from building your brand and getting your business rolling.

Follow our guidelines as best you can, but allow yourself some flexibility and creativity. Those, above all, will help you create a fantastic domain name that will serve your business well into the future.