Should You Have long or Short Domain Name?
A Web Hosting Article Contributed by Raj Rao
Permissible Length of the Domain Name
The maximum length allowed for a Domain Name is 67 characters. It is almost impossible to find a Domain Name that is less than 4 characters, because the Domain Name has been in use since the inception of the Internet. You can use all alphabets and numbers along with one special character dash (-) between two words. You cannot prefix or suffix a Domain Name with a dash. E.g. My-Self.com is OK, but myself-.com or -myself.com is not permitted.
Short Domain Name
Generally, shorter domain name is preferred over a long domain name because it is easier to type the name with no spelling mistakes. It is also believed that a short domain name is easier to remember. This is especially true if you have a brand name that is short or abbreviated, e.g. IBM for International Business Machines.
Long Domain Name
In many cases, it is better to have a long domain name if a shorter version may not be suggestive enough. For instance, if you are a small company manufacturing white shirts, using a brand name WSM, it is advisable to use the domain name whiteshirtscompany.com instead of WSM.com.
Getting Your Domain Name
It is becoming increasingly difficult to get any meaningful domain name, either short or long. Therefore, this discussion is to some extent academic. However, there are many new Domain Name extensions available like .INFO, .BIZ, .US where you can still get a meaningful domain name. So, the principle still applies that if you can get a domain name WHITESHIRTCO.BIZ, this is preferred to WSM.BIZ.
Should You Break Your Domain Name?
Generally speaking, you should not break your domain name or brand name. In our previous example, it is not advisable to use the domain name WHITE-SHIRTS-CO.COM, because it is harder to remember and type. However, in some cases where the Brand Names are made of distinct unrelated words like ACME TRADING, it is OK to use a hyphenated Domain Name like ACME-TRADING.COM, if the domain name ACMETRADING.COM is not available.
Suffix and Prefix in Domain Name
In case you are not able to find any domain name close to your brand name, there are two alternatives available:
a) Use a prefix like 'my' or 'your' or 'the' etc.
b) Use a suffix like 'USA' or 'LTD' or 'INC' etc. This should be resorted to only if the original brand name is not available to be registered.
Tips
a) Many Domain Names are registered by third parties who have no use for the domain name. If you have a registered trade mark, it is possible to get these domain names back from them.
b) Even if a particular domain name is legitimately registered by somebody, you can verify whether it is actually active and hosted. If not, you can negotiate and get the desired domain name.
