TECH SUPPORT is a biweekly column written by Ken Richman of Teddington Web to help you get your business online and to make a success of it once you are up and running.

In my last article, I discussed the importance of being able to maintain an online presence that you can control, and fundamentally that means having a website at the heart of all you do. 

Well, before you can create a website, you need a domain – this will be your home on the web. 

It's what people will type into the address bar of their browser to bring up your website – for instance, teddingtonweb.com, which is my domain.

At just a few pounds, most domains are not expensive to register or to renew.

But before you go rushing in to purchase your domain, let's explore what makes for a good domain.

Whether a personal or business site, every successful online venture starts with a good domain (Photo: Markus Winkler)

You'll see that there are two parts to every domain, separated by a dot.

The part before the dot (in my case teddingtonweb) is the domain name. The suffix that comes after the dot (e.g. com) is the top-level domain (TLD).

You can't make up a new TLD for yourself – you'll need to pick a TLD from those that already exist. 

Domains are available to register from many online registrars, such as krystal.uk or porkbun.com. Good TLD choices for UK-based organisations include:

• .com
• .co
• .co.uk
• .uk
• .org.uk

There are very many less popular TLD choices, such as .band, .insurance, .tv and so on. 

These will usually cost a bit more (sometimes a lot more) to renew each year, but if there's one you really like then by all means go for it.

Remember though that people could be confused by a less familiar TLD, so your domain needs to be easy to recall. 

Also check that the price quoted for these more obscure domains is not just an introductory price, with a much higher price at renewal. 

For me, I prefer to stick with the familiar ones above. Prices are pretty static for these popular TLDs – a few pounds per year – prices are set by the registrar you select so shop around. 

You don't have to buy from the same company you use for web hosting.

I mentioned some popular TLDs for businesses. What are the pros and cons of these?

.com

The archetypal TLD. It's the most valuable, and at the same time, one of the least expensive – at least if the domain name you want is still available. 

While .com signifies a company, its use is prolific, for absolutely anything. 

A .com domain is not geographically related to any country so it's ideal if you plan to market yourself worldwide, but having said that, it's the first choice in the USA and may suggest an American location to some, just because it is so popular in the States. 

.co

This is another non-geographic TLD, these days signifying a company (although originally it didn't – it was the country TLD for Colombia, the equivalent of our .uk).

 I have to admit I don't favour this one, but I don't know why. Maybe it looks like a .com typo. 

I know that the bank Tide uses it (for tide.co) but I'm struggling to think of another major company that employs it. Maybe you can. 

I realise it may be a shorter alternative to .com but if the .com is taken, do you want to get the .co? 

I think not as it could lead to confusion.

Fortunately for Tuvalu, their country TLD .tv commands a premium, especially from TV stations. Proceeds from .tv sales are spent mitigating climate change in the island nation.

.co.uk and .uk

If you want to emphasise the fact that your business is UK-based, choose .co.uk or the simpler and shorter .uk.

The .uk TLD became available a long time after the .co.uk and this accounts for why .co.uk is more prevalent. 

Balance the benefit of the shorter .uk domain against the possible confusion when someone enters the .co part mistakenly.

To avoid that last difficulty, I recommend you get both the .co.uk and the .uk domains, if available – but if either one is not available, get neither to stay unique!

With both registered to you, you can set up one domain to be an alias of the other, so whichever one is entered, the visitor will end up on your website regardless. 

And why not register the .com domain as well? It is a small cost each year to maintain it, but it prevents some other business having it and possibly trading on your name.

The .uk TLD is managed by an organisation called Nominet. 

You can research .uk domains there and, should you find yourself in any dispute over a .uk domain name, this is the organisation you'll need to be in touch with to resolve it.

.org.uk

The org is short for Organisation making this a popular choice for charities and non-profits who need a web presence but aren't strictly in business.

Many TLDs come with strict rules about who can register them. 

For instance, you can no longer register a .eu domain without an address in the EU. Another example is the .aero TLD. 

This one is sponsored by SITA, which limits registrations to members of the air transport industry. 

All these rules add up to a massively complicated system and so I recommend you keep things simple with one of those I have already mentioned.

Be careful to choose a domain that isn't too similar to one that already exists. I'll give you a (fictional) example. 

Janis is a dog groomer and plumps for the domain name prettypoodle for her dog grooming business. 

She visits an online domain registrar and does a search to see if prettypoodle has already been registered.

Janis discovers that unfortunately, prettypoodle.com is already registered: but she is delighted to find that prettypoodle.co.uk is available, as is prettypoodle.uk! 

As she is planning to use a .co.uk TLD, Janis sees no problem in registering prettypoodle.co.uk (and maybe the .uk version as well). 

However, she needs to be aware that ignoring the fact that there's a similar .com domain already registered has at least two negatives.

Firstly, people are bound to get confused. 

They can easily recall the prettypoodle part – but what goes on the end? If they substitute .com for .co.uk they will end up on a completely different website – and worse, it could be that of a competitor. 

If it's another dog grooming business, her potential customers may never even realise they are not on Janis's site.

Secondly, Janis may be contacted by the owner of the .com site who could justifiably make a case that she is trying to 'pass off' her business as their business. 

She may end up having to sign over her new domain to them. It's just not worth the aggravation.

So if you find that your domain choice clashes with any other domain name, for any TLD, think hard, and do some investigation before you go for that choice.

I hinted in my first article that you should not leap in to register a domain name. 

On the one hand, yes – do buy it before someone else does. On the other hand, remember that once you have it registered, you must keep it registered or suffer the consequences. 

I registered the domain kenrichman.com a very long time ago. I used it for a while for my business address when I was self-employed. Then I set up a limited company and chose a new domain for that. 

I forgot to renew kenrichman.com at the appropriate time. 

By the time I noticed the fact, it was too late. The domain was for sale at a very high price on the domain aftermarket. 

I decided that it was of interest to very few people and I could manage without it, so I decided to wait and see what happened. 

Some time later, it came up for renewal and the new owner let it lapse. I made sure to re-register it. 

I still do not use it but I am glad to have it back in my stable.

I was lucky. Had I been using the domain at the time for my business website, I'd have had a major problem as my site would have gone offline. Not only that, any emails sent to me via this domain would have ended up in someone else's inbox. 

Furthermore, a different site with, shall we say, less wholesome content could have been put up on that domain with my name on it. 

This could have damaged my reputation very badly. 

Therefore, think before you register, and think long-term because you'll either be paying for that address forever, or you have to be happy that someone else may take it one day and use it in any way they choose, even if it still has connections to you.

I hope this has been useful to you if you are considering registering a domain for your website. 

Got a great domain already? Fantastic. Then for my next article we'll look at what you need to think about before you talk to a web designer about your new website. 

In the meantime if you have any questions about anything discussed, do drop me a line via my website https://teddingtonweb.com.