Choosing a Domain Name: What Actually Matters

The domain name advice on the internet is mostly noise. Skip the SEO mythology (keywords in domains don’t matter meaningfully), ignore the urgency tactics (you’re not missing out if .io goes to someone else), and focus on what actually matters for your specific use case.

What matters: Memorability. Pronunciation. Spelling. If you have to spell it out every time you say it, it’s the wrong name. If autocorrect fights you every time you type it, it’s the wrong name.

On TLDs: .com remains the clearest signal of a general commercial presence. .io is well-established in the developer and SaaS space. .dev is credible for developer tools and personal sites. .co.uk and country codes make sense when your audience is explicitly regional. .ai is appropriate if your product is genuinely AI-focused. There’s no wrong answer here — pick the TLD that fits your context.

What to avoid: Hyphens. Numbers spelled out or as digits. Anything that requires explanation. Trademarked terms you don’t own.

WHOIS privacy: Enable it. Your personal contact details don’t need to be publicly searchable by default. Any registrar that charges extra for this is selling you something that costs them nothing.

Register and renewal pricing: Check that register and renewal prices match before committing. Some registrars offer the first year at a steep discount and charge significantly more at renewal. If the renewal price isn’t displayed prominently, ask.