If you are wondering what to do if your domain name is taken, do not immediately add a hyphen, number, or random word just to find something available. First, see whether the name is already being used by an established website or brand, then compare a few sensible alternatives before registering anything.
Check What Is Using the Domain Name
Finding out that a domain is unavailable does not tell you much by itself.
Someone may be actively using it for a website. It may belong to a business or organization with the same or a similar name. Or the domain may be registered without much of a website attached to it.
Start by visiting the domain.
If an established website or recognizable brand is already using the name you wanted, that should affect what you choose next. Registering a very similar domain could make it harder for people to remember which site is yours.
For example, suppose you wanted:
GrowingInFaith.com
If another active Christian website already uses that name, changing yours to something such as:
GrowingInFaithOnline.com
may technically give you an available domain, but it does not necessarily give you a good one. Readers could easily confuse the two sites.
Availability is only one part of choosing a domain. You also want a name that can clearly belong to your website.
Do Not Let the Registrar Choose for You
When the domain you search for is unavailable, a registrar may immediately show you a list of alternatives.
Some may be useful. Many will simply be available.
Those are not the same thing.
You might see suggestions with extra words, different extensions, hyphens, unusual spellings, or other changes. Treat those suggestions as possibilities to consider, not recommendations you should automatically accept.
The registrar’s job at that point is to show you domains you can register. Your job is to decide whether one of them actually makes sense for the website you plan to build.
Consider Another Domain Extension
Sometimes the exact name you want is available with another extension.
For example, the .com may be taken while another extension is available.
That can be worth considering, but do not choose another extension solely because it lets you keep the exact words you originally wanted. Think about whether the extension fits the kind of website you are building and whether using it could create confusion with the owner of the .com.
I cover the broader extension decision separately in Should I Use .com or .org?, so there is no need to make the entire decision based on availability alone.
If the alternative extension fits your site and does not make your domain confusingly similar to an established website, it may be a reasonable option.
Add a Word Only When It Adds Meaning
Another option is adding a meaningful word before or after your preferred name.
The important word there is meaningful.
Suppose the name you wanted was:
FaithfulMarriage.com
A useful variation might narrow or clarify what the website does. A useless variation simply adds a word because the original domain was unavailable.
Be careful with filler words such as:
- best
- info
- online
- site
- blog
- official
There is nothing automatically wrong with every one of those words. The problem is adding one when it contributes nothing to the name.
FaithfulMarriageResources.com, for example, tells the reader something different from BestFaithfulMarriageOnline.com.
Do not make a good website name weaker simply to preserve most of the original wording.
See Whether the Name Can Be Shortened
Sometimes the best alternative is not adding something. It is removing something.
Look at the original name and ask whether every word is necessary.
A shorter version may be easier to type, remember, say aloud, and put on other materials later.
Just make sure shortening the name does not make it vague or change what people will expect from the site.
Abbreviations can also create problems. An abbreviation that is obvious to you may mean nothing to someone seeing the website for the first time.
If you have to explain the letters every time you tell someone the domain, the shorter name may not actually be simpler.
Be Careful With Hyphens, Numbers, and Unusual Spellings
When a domain is taken, it is easy to start making small changes until something becomes available.
That is how a simple name can turn into something like:
Growing-In-Faith-247.com
You may be able to register it, but that does not make it a good domain.
Hyphens are easy to forget when someone hears the name instead of seeing it. Numbers can create uncertainty about whether the number should be typed as a digit or spelled out. Unusual spellings can make a domain harder to remember and easier to mistype.
The more explaining a domain requires, the less attractive it becomes.
If the only way to keep your preferred name is to make it awkward, it may be time to consider a different name.
Consider Choosing a Completely Different Name
This is often the option people resist the longest.
You spent time coming up with a name you liked. You pictured it on the website. Then you discovered you could not get the domain.
It is tempting to keep modifying that name because starting over feels like losing progress.
But choosing a new name now is usually easier than building a website around a domain you never really liked.
Go back to the basic qualities that made the first name appealing. Maybe it described the subject clearly. Maybe it was memorable. Maybe it fit the kind of Christian website you want to build.
Keep those qualities without being tied to the exact words.
If you need to revisit the larger naming process, my guide to choosing a Christian domain name covers the broader decision.
Make a Shortlist Before You Register Anything
Do not search until you find one available domain and immediately buy it.
Create a small group of possible names first.
For each one, consider:
- Is it easy to say?
- Is it easy to spell?
- Is it easy to remember?
- Does it fit what the website is about?
- Could someone confuse it with another website or brand?
- Does it contain unnecessary words?
- Would you still be comfortable using this name several years from now?
Seeing several options beside each other makes weak choices much easier to spot.
A domain can look acceptable when it is the only available option on your screen. It may look much less appealing when you compare it with four or five stronger alternatives.
Check for Brand and Trademark Problems Before Registering
Once you have a final choice, do not register it quite yet.
Check whether another business, organization, website, or brand is already using the same or a very similar name. You should also do a basic trademark check before committing to the domain.
That subject deserves more than a quick paragraph, so I cover it separately in Should You Check Trademarks Before Buying a Domain Name?
The important point here is that finding an available domain does not automatically mean the name is safe or sensible for you to use.
Complete those checks before you register the domain.
A taken domain name may be disappointing, but it can also keep you from rushing into a poor second choice. Compare several good alternatives, avoid awkward compromises, and choose a domain you will be comfortable building the website around for years.