Your domain is the one technical decision you can't undo without losing money and SEO. That's why it's worth thinking 20 minutes before spending $15.

1. .com still rules

You can register .io, .ai, .app for under $5. But the average customer still types ".com". Exceptions: .io for tech startups, .ai if you do AI. Everything else: .com.

2. Max 15 characters, ideally under 10

6-10 character domains have 23% more recall. Over 18 chars get typed wrong 30% of the time.

3. No hyphens, no numbers

"my-company-web.com" looks awkward. People type without the hyphen and land elsewhere. Numbers add ambiguity.

4. Verify trademark before paying

Before buying: USPTO, TMDN, search "your name + trademark" on Google.

5. Pronounceable and memorable, not descriptive

15 years ago "cheap-shoes-store.com" worked. Today Google reads it as spam. Modern brands: Stripe, Notion, Linear. Short, memorable, not descriptive.

6. Buy ALL the obvious variants

If you register "mycompany.com", also .net and your country TLD. $30-40 more per year but prevents a competitor from grabbing .net.

7. WHOIS Privacy on (free in 2026)

All serious registrars offer it free. Confirm it's ON before paying.

8. Renew for 5+ years

Google considers age. More importantly: you forget about it and remove the risk of the domain expiring because of a lost renewal email.

Tool to verify

Use our search — real-time RDAP, automatic suggestions, instant registration.

Frequently asked questions

Is .com or .io / .ai better for a tech startup in 2026?

.com is still king by recognition — people still type '.com' by default. Reasonable exceptions: .io for tech startups (the audience gets it), .ai if you do AI. For consumer-facing SaaS aimed at non-technical users, always .com.

Is WHOIS Privacy worth it or just marketing?

100% worth it. Without Privacy, your name, address and phone are public for spam and scams. Every serious registrar (Cloudflare, Spaceship, Namecheap, Porkbun) offers it free in 2026 — if a registrar wants to charge for it, change registrars.

How many years should I register a domain for?

5-10 years. Google considers age as a legitimacy signal. More importantly: you forget about it and remove the risk of it expiring because of a renewal email lost in spam (happened to Microsoft with hotmail.com in 1999).

Can I switch domains later if I regret my choice?

Yes but it costs dearly: 6-12 months of organic traffic while Google reindexes, 301 redirects rarely transfer 100% of SEO, and you have to reteach the brand. Better to spend 20 minutes picking right the first time.

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