Last month, we gave you some advice on choosing a domain name. It seems that it was timely, as new research has confirmed that most businesses still rush in when it comes to picking their web address. A survey commissioned by UK hosting company found that 41 per cent of businesses spend less than an hour choosing a web address. it's no wonder that a quarter of online businesses worry that their domain name isn't catchy enough, and a third think they'd earn more money if they had a better address.

A web address is often bought in haste at the start of a business project. Every UK business must recognise the lasting impact that a domain name can have on sales and image, and business owners shouldn't delay making necessary changes. It's rather worrying that after 15 years of eCommerce, new businesses still treat their web address as an afterthought. With internet sales taking over the high street, it's more important than ever to have a web presence that works, so rushing in really is a big mistake. We suggests that businesses spend a few days thinking about their options before committing to a new domain name. We also find that most business owners are also pre-occupied with .co.uk or .corn options, with over half completely ruling out less obvious suffixes such as .net, .biz or .eu.

For example, net is for network providers and ISPs, while .eu is for sites with a European presence. To avoid confusing consumers, we think you should only choose those domains when the business fits them. By all means, though, spend as long as you need coming up with the right web address. In online commerce, your domain name is your brand, so consider it carefully.

This post was last modified: 13-01-08 01:33 PM by vwdesigns.