I have just written a post on naming a business and the importance of matching the Limited Company name to the company domain name.
It is incredibly difficult to find a name that has been permitted at Companies House (with over 7 thousand new names being registered a week and strict rules surrounding naming) and matching a domain name (with tens of millions registered each year).
However, be warned, think carefully about how your company name and domain name looks. These websites may have attracted the wrong kind of visitors (taken from listverse.com):
1. Whorepresents.com
A company called who represents.
2. Expertsexchange.com
Experts Exchange.
3. Penisland.net
Pen Island.
4. Therapistfinder.com
Need a therapist?
5. Powergenitalia.com
An Italian Power Generator company.
6. Molestationnursery.com
Mole Station Native Nursery.
7. cummingfirst.com
Cumming Methodist Church.
genius!
Comment by Thomas — March 8, 2010 @ 9:29 am
Quite an interesting article.
But I wonder what your thoughts are on which is more important, registering the website first or the registeration of the company.
When I was preparing to form my company, I checked through Duport associates that the company name BO 2 BO Ltd, and domain names .com & .net were all available.
I thought getting the business plan ready was more important, but news of my inventions, the bo 2 bo products range soon got leaked, presumably in America, and I sebsequently lost the preferred .com & .net domain names to squatters.
I am glad I managed to keep the spies away during the patenting process, but in the bid to generate funds, I wasn’t so successful.
Comment by Symeon — March 8, 2010 @ 2:58 pm
Domain names and company names are very cheap and registration is extremely fast. That’s not a sales pitch for Duport, it’s just relative to the cost of starting up (and potential profit that can be acheived from) a business.
I run a website design company and can’t tell you how often we have customers come to us that have invested thousands (of £££ and hours) developing a brand, logo, business plan but still haven’t registered the domain. Beleive me I’ve seen them taken the day before the customer goes to register. The more people you tell about your brand and ideas, the more you expose yourself to this underhand practice.
My advice would always be to register the domain and company at the same time (domain slightly before if you were to pick either). I do beleive there are firms that trawl the companies house register of names looking for company names that haven’t been registered as domains yet.
Comment by Thomas — March 8, 2010 @ 5:38 pm
LOL. Great domains! Wonder how far these guys came printing business cards, making brochures etc. before someone said DOH!
Comment by Christopher "European Domain Centre" Hofman — October 7, 2010 @ 9:22 am