ASK IH: Domain Name Importance?
Hey guys,
I'm in the early stages of building a product and I am wondering how important my domain name is when starting out. The domain I want is for sale, although it is quite expensive. Given this, is it a bad decision to get a slightly different domain until I can generate enough revenue to purchase the one I want? For example, if I want to purchase "product.com", what do you guys think about purchasing "myproduct.com" (for significantly less) to begin with?
"If you have a US startup called X and you don't have x.com, you should probably change your name."
http://www.paulgraham.com/name.html
That said I think dropbox started with dropboxapp.com or getdropbox.com before they had the money to buy dropbox.com.
Yeah... Sadly in the US there's a general perception that every website ends in .com no matter what.
There's an argument to be made though that the domain almost doesn't matter (as long as it's not infringing on copyright). As long as you rank well in Google, that's how a lot of people are going to find you anyway...
Agreed. Unless you need to build a huge brand and market to the masses... .com isn't a requirement. Better to focus on differentiating from Google Search competitors than getting the .dotcom.
I think the name you choose and how it's spelled is more important.
Name it something that you can own and doesn't exist yet. Life will be SO MUCH EASIER.
if there is a different TLD like product.io or product.run, product.app etc. use it but if there is not I think this is not very important for the start you can use myproduct.com, getproduct.com etc.
The advice I use on this subject breaks into two types of companies: single-product or legacy.
If your business is only going to be a single product and/or you plan on selling your business one day, you should pick a name that has your product name in it. FancyDressShoes.com or GetFancyDressShoes.com or FancyDressShoesApp.com (to your question, just add 'get' or 'app' to the beginning or end, you don't need an expensive domain [you can always buy one later after you're profitable])
If your business is going to be multi-products and/or you're going to keep it for a long time, it's okay to use something random ( like http://schuwing.com )
Who's your target market?
If it's techy types then a .io or other gcctld for example would be fine. People who grew up with the internet will likely be fine with the .tv, .co, and other zany tlds. Older people who were alive pre- or early internet you're going to need a .com or at least a .org (maybe a .net but expect problems there too)
If you have a mixed bag or any doubts I'd go with a .com. The method of {my,get,use}example.com has worked for plenty of big names. If you strike it rich you'll likely be able to purchase the domain you really wanted later.
Simple reasoning people recognise a string of words followed by "dotcom" as a domain. Never use hyphens unless you want to look like a scam site, rarely are numbers appropriate.
Naturally, all in my opinion :)
go for myproduct.com. There have been lots of times when I considered buying a premium domain and didnt, then the project didnt work out and I was happy I didnt
Get your MVP out on myproduct.com and if you get traction buy product.com.
Domains are going down in value every year. I'm not saying price, but in value.
People notice domains less and less as the years go by, and you don't even see the domain that clearly on a lot of mobile browsers.
In the old days, people went to specific websites primarily by typing in domains, but these days, more and more people just type the name into Google. But most people are finding websites through links, etc.
The idea that a premium name boosts your brand is true, but how much actual value that brings you is debatable. If you're building a company you expect to be massive, employ lots of people, etc., then you'll eventually want a .com, but even in that case, the money could probably be spent much more efficiently in the beginning to build a better product.