How to Choose a Good Domain Name and Extension

Your domain name will appear on business cards, invoices, social media and email addresses for years, and changing it later means redirecting old links and telling every customer. A few minutes of planning now saves a lot of trouble. This guide covers the technical rules, practical naming advice and how to pick an extension.

The technical rules

• Allowed characters are the letters a–z, digits 0–9 and the hyphen -. Spaces, underscores and symbols such as & are not allowed.
• A hyphen cannot be the first or last character, and most registries do not allow two hyphens in positions 3 and 4 (that pattern is reserved for encoded international names).
• The part before the extension can be up to 63 characters.
• Domains are not case-sensitive: MyShop.com and myshop.com are the same domain.
• Names in scripts such as Bengali, Arabic or Chinese are possible on some extensions. See IDN Domains.

Choosing the name

1. Keep it short. Aim for something people can type on a phone without mistakes. Two or three short words is usually the limit.
2. Pass the phone test. Say the name to a friend over the phone. If they have to ask how it is spelled, customers will mistype it too. Be careful with words that people spell in different ways, including Bangla words written in English letters (for example shop vs shob, or ghor vs ghar).
3. Avoid hyphens and numbers where you can. People forget whether there was a hyphen, or whether the number was written as a digit or a word.
4. Stay clear of trademarks. A name that contains another company's brand can be taken from you through a dispute process, even after you have paid for it.
5. Check social media handles. It helps if the same name is free on the platforms you plan to use.
6. Think long term. A name tied to one product or one city can feel limiting if your business grows.

Choosing the extension

Price, renewals and premium names

• Compare the renewal price, not just the first-year price, on the pricing page. You will pay the renewal price every year you keep the domain.
• Some short or dictionary names are listed by the registry as premium and cost much more, sometimes every year. The search result shows the price before you add it to your cart.
• If you are building a brand, consider registering the .com plus one or two other extensions or common misspellings and pointing them to your main site. This stops others from using them.

Quick checklist

• Short, easy to say and spell
• No accidental words when the letters run together (read it slowly)
• No trademark problems
• Extension fits your audience
• You are happy with the renewal price

When you have decided, search for it at fimurohost.com/domain and follow How to Register a Domain Name with FimuroHost.

Need help?

If you would like a second opinion on a name or extension, open a support ticket from your client area (choose the Support department and include your domain name), or message us on WhatsApp at 01818160926. We are happy to check your domain for you.