How to Choose Your eCommerce Domain Name (+ Tips To Get a Free One)

Last updated on October 13th, 2021 by Melinda Bartley

Do you want the perfect domain name for your online store?

There are 24+ million eCommerce sites in the world, so it can be quite a challenge to find a good name that isn’t already taken.

The good news is that we’re here to help.

By the end of this post, you’ll learn how to find a great new name for your eCommerce store and also how to get one for free!

Here’s a table of contents of what we’ll be covering so you can navigate this post easily:

Why Your eCommerce Domain Name is Important
Tips for Choosing an eCommerce Domain Name
Examples of Great eCommerce Domain Names
Choosing the Right Domain Type and Extension
How to Register Your eCommerce Domain

Why Your eCommerce Domain Name is Important

Brand names and domain names should ideally be the same. It helps avoid confusion and makes it easy for users to find your site.

So your domain name becomes just as important as the brand name when it comes to connecting with your audience.

It’s important to choose one that’s simple yet memorable.

For instance, if you were searching for a domain name generator called Nameboy, which one of these websites do you feel would be good for your audience and search engines?

Thegreatestdomaingeneratorever.com
Domainnamehelper500.com
Nameboy.com

We obviously already picked the third one! It’s brandable, memorable, and gives us room to be creative.

The right domain name can establish a solid online presence for your business.

Keep in mind that choosing a domain name for your eCommerce business should be a strategic business decision because it’s permanent and can be extremely hard to change in the future.

Tips for Choosing an eCommerce Domain Name

It’s hard enough coming up with a good domain name, it’s even harder to find one that’s available.

Here’s what we recommend considering when you’re choosing a domain name:

1. Keep it short and simple

We live in a day and age where faster is better.

Simple website names are best because they are easy to remember and take a lesser time to type. This also means potential customers are more likely to find you.

For example, wpbeginner.com is much easier to remember than wordpressbeginnerblog.com.

Avoid using hyphens and double letters in your website name because it can cause confusion and people could end up on the wrong website. If you plan on using numbers in your domain name, see our guide first: Can Domain Names Have Numbers?

2. Make it brandable

When you use your eCommerce brand as a domain, it builds awareness and a connection with your website visitors. It’s also important to check if social media handles with the same name or similar versions are available.

3. Brainstorm and shortlist

One of the best ways to come up with a good domain name is to brainstorm name ideas. Chat with your peers and colleagues about words that have a direct (or indirect) reference to your store.

Keep the names that are brandable, memorable, and sound good. Don’t be afraid to showcase your brand’s value, products, or services either.

To help you brainstorm, here are 5 questions to ask yourself about your eCommerce website:

Is it easy to remember?
Is it easy to spell?
Is it easy to pronounce?
Is it keyword-rich?
Does it differ from your competitors?
Does it have meaning to your store?

Keep in mind, trying to get a marketable domain name like amazon.com can be expensive. If your desired name is out of budget, avoid getting stuck on the name. Instead, you’ll want to generate fresh ideas.

You can use our domain name generator tool to find new names and check domain availability.

Lastly, look to your favorite eCommerce stores out there. Do a quick search of your favorite online stores and check out their domains. We’ll give you our top 3 eCommerce examples of eCommerce website names below.

Examples of Great eCommerce Domain Names

Here are a few examples of successful eCommerce websites that are rocking the tips we just mentioned.

1. OptinMonster

OptinMonster is a powerful conversion optimization toolkit for WordPress that includes growing your email list and increasing your leads.

Their eCommerce domain name is optinmonster.com, which as we know is the brand name.

But what if their domain name was conversionoptimizertool.com?

That may be confusing and hard to find, right?

Notice how OptinMonster doesn’t have any repeating words, hyphens, or anything else to confuse users. It’s straightforward, simple, and likeable!

2. All in One SEO

Another great example is All in One SEO. It’s a WordPress SEO plugin and toolkit.

Their eCommerce domain name is aioseo.com. Since their name is a bit longer, they relied on abbreviations by combining the first letters of their name, to make it shorter for search.

This is a great option if your brand name is long (or taken). In this case, it could be harder for the person to remember or spell allinoneseo.com. It looks confusing and “aioseo” has a better ring to it.

3. WPForms

WPForms is a drag and drop WordPress form builder.

Their domain name is wpforms.com. WPForms is their brand name and is also associated with WordPress.

Having the WP (which stands for WordPress) helps differentiate that they are in the WordPress industry for their visitors as well.

There are plenty of eCommerce examples you could look at. We recommend looking at domains in your niche.

Now it’s also important to choose the right domain extension. More on that, next.

Choosing the Right eCommerce Domain Type and Extension

There are different kinds of domain names and you’ll want to choose the one that’s most beneficial for an eCommerce store.

Bear with us, some of these terms may seem like jargon but we’ll simplify it for you the best we can.

1. Top Level Domains (TLDS)

These are sometimes called domain name extensions. It’s the part that comes after your domain name such as .com. Other popular TLDs include:

.org
.gov
.biz
.net
.edu

These extensions recognize the purpose or service of the website like business, government, software, or non-profit.

We’ve covered everything you need to know about TLDs in our guide: What Is a Top Level Domain? (TLDs Explained + Popular Extensions)

2. Country Code Top-Level Domain (ccTLD)

These are country specific extensions such as:

co.uk (United Kingdom)
.us (United States)
.ca (Canada)
.in (India)

These are great options if you plan on doing business locally. It can help with SEO and getting your website content to rank in specific countries.

It’s also a good choice if the domain name you wanted is already taken. However, this can also limit your audience to that region.

For more information on this, see: Should You Use a Country Code Top Level Domain (Pros & Cons).

3. Generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD)

Generic Top-Level Domains let you get creative with your domain name. A great example of this is parse.ly. They stay true to their brand name and used .ly as their extension.

parsely

Other examples include .yoga, .church, .blog, and other such generic names.

4. Premium Domain

If a domain name is already taken, it becomes a premium domain name. Some domain names may be in use, while others are simply parked.

Parked domains can be easily bought but they usually come at a higher price. Depending on the popularity of your domain, it can cost you a few hundred dollars to thousands!

So which domain type and extension should you pick?

For eCommerce stores, .coms are the best extensions to pick.

A .com is the most well-known domain name extension in the world.

If you’re targeting a local area or specific country, only then do we recommend choosing country code domain extensions such as .us, .ca, or co.uk.

Now that you know how to pick a good eCommerce domain name, we’ll show you how to get one for free and register it so that you get ownership of the domain name.

How to Register Your eCommerce Domain

There are plenty of domain name registrars online that let you easily select your domain name and buy it instantly.

If you plan on hosting your store on eCommerce platforms like Shopify or Wix, you can find and register your domain directly with them.

If you choose to create your website using WordPress, then you’ll need to purchase a domain and hosting plan separately.

Domain registration takes just a few steps and a couple of minutes of your time. Let’s get started with the tutorial.

Step 1: Run an eCommerce Domain Name Search

First, you’ll need to search for a domain name for your online store.

You can use a tool like the Store Name Generator at Nameboy to help. It will instantly check the domain name availability.

All you have to do is enter your domain name or keyword into the store name generator and hit submit.

Nameboy pairs your keywords to common prefixes and suffixes to find suggestions for your eCommerce domain name.

You’ll see a list of available domains and extensions. The generator also offers suggestions similar to the keyword you submitted.

Next, you’ll choose your domain name extension.

Again, a domain name extension, or top level domain, is the end of your website URL. For instance, a .com or a .net.

Like we mentioned, we recommend using a .com because it’s the most well-known and trusted domain name extension in the world.

The next step is to find a domain registrar.

Step 2: Find a Domain Registrar

A domain registrar is a place where you will purchase and register your domain name.

Some popular and top domain registrars include Domain.com, Bluehost, Namecheap, and GoDaddy.

If you choose to buy your domain name through Nameboy, you’ll be directed to the Domain.com website. You can checkout easily with a 25% discount on your domain name purchase!

We also recommend buying your domain name from Bluehost.

Bluehost is actually a top web hosting company and is officially recommended by WordPress.org.

We’ve worked out a deal where Nameboy users get an exclusive Bluehost discount.

This will give you discounted web hosting along with a free domain name for 1 year and a free SSL certificate as well.

They make it easy to set up your free domain name too.

Let’s walk through how to register your new eCommerce domain name with Bluehost.

Step 3: Buy and Register Your eCommerce Domain

Head over to our Bluehost discount page to get started.

When you click on the ‘Get started’ button, you’ll see the pricing page with the different hosting options available. You can review the available plans and choose a plan that fits your budget.

We recommend checking out the Bluehost WooCommerce hosting plan as well. This is specially designed for eCommerce stores that are using WordPress and WooCommerce.

This plan starts at $9.95 per month but it gives you the right bandwidth and security features you need to run an online store without any hiccups. Plus, it comes with WordPress and a WooCommerce storefront pre-installed so it becomes much easier to build your online store.

Once you select a plan, Bluehost will ask you to create a new domain.

You can enter the domain name you’ve selected.

After that, it’ll take you to the signup page to provide your account information.

Next, choose your Package Extras. These are optional features you can add to your hosting plan.

Once you’ve made your selection, Bluehost will calculate and display the payment due. Enter your payment details and agree to their Terms of Service and click Submit.

That’s it!

Bluehost will register your domain name, set up your hosting, and send you an email with a link to access your account.

If you need more information, here’s more on how to register your eCommerce domain name.

Now you’re officially ready to get your online store up and running.

We hope this article has helped you learn the importance of choosing a good domain for your online store along with tips on how to get one for free!

Remember, you can always grab a free eCommerce domain from Bluehost when you buy their web hosting plan.

Once you own your domain, you’ll find these posts helpful:

These resources will help you set up, customize, and market your online store.

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