I Blog With Joomla: Choosing The Right Domain Name
In this I Blog With Joomla blog series, let's explore first how to go about starting a website with Joomla. To start blogging in Joomla, you will need to prepare the environment that supports this. In this three-part mini series, we will show you the 3 main elements of setting up your blog in Joomla:
- Domain name selection
- Choosing web hosting for Joomla
- Installing Joomla
In today's blog, we will be sharing about choosing the right domain name for your Joomla website.
What Domain Name Should I Choose?
Choosing the right name for your blog is like naming a newborn baby -- his/her name will determine how successful when they grow up (of course, with the right grooming, mindset and actions). Likewise, the choice of your domain name will make or break your website in the long run.
The essence of a successful domain name selection solely depends on the content that you will be creating in the future. For instance, joomlatools.com gives you a hint that the site is about tools built for Joomla; or joomlatemplates.com clearly tells you about templates for Joomla.
Some of you might beg to differ that this concept does not apply to unique domain names that has nothing to do with the content, eg. Yahoo.com or Google.com (search engines), Zappos.com (online fashion store) or even Amazon.com (e-commerce). These domain names do not reflect the activities they do but because they are huge and are known everywhere, we've become accustomised to their brands and their businesses without thinking too hard.
The same goes for websites that have initials like cnn.com, wsj.com, att.com and the likes. They are already established and is not advisable if you are just starting out on a new website.
For your blog, it is better to start something more sensible and straight-to-the-point domain names eg. iblogwithjoomla.com, bestinsurancenews.com or gadgetblog.com.
Try to stick with .com instead of .biz or .net as .com is more commonly known and easily remembered. We often hear of people doing wild guesses of a website that ends with a .com and it works most of the time.
Domain Name Registration
When buying a domain name, there are a few big names such as GoDaddy.com, NameCheap.com, Name.com, Gandi.com and more. I am not going to do comparisons here on which registrars to choose but selecting the right domain name will require some research and the kind of topic that you want to blog about.
It is also advisable that your domain name is related to the content of your blog as it makes searching for your website easy.
You may come across domains that you want to have but is not available. In this case, you can either think of a different name or choose the suggested alternatives. You can go with your gut feeling and just make sure it sounds and looks right.
NameCheap alerts that your domain name is already taken.
SiteGround has a thoughtful feature of recommending related domains that you can consider.
If all else fails, you can always opt for a sub-domain first from CloudAccess.
Additional Tips for Selecting Domain Name
Spend a bit of time on the following websites that shares about tips that you can follow when choosing the ideal domain name for your new blog. Here they are in no particular order:
- Moz - 12 Rules for Choosing The Right Domain Name
- SiteGround - How To Choose A Domain Name?
- The Site Wizard - How to Register Your Own Domain Name
- SitePoint - 8 Quick Tips to Choosing A Domain Name
At the end of the day, your domain will be the identifier that you hope everyone will remember and keep coming to your website.
In the next blog, we will share with you about choosing a suitable web hosting service for your Joomla website.
To be continued ...