How to Choose a Domain Name

A domain name is the unique part of the Universal Resource Locator ("URL") of a website. The URL is the website's address. Barr Design's URL for this website is http://www.barrdesign.com, and "barrdesign.com" is the domain name.

A domain name often is the same as the name of the business: the Barnes and Noble bookstore chain uses the domain name "barnesandnoble.com" for its website. Domain names, like the names of products and services, can have trademark protection, and in choosing a domain name it is important not to infringe the trademark of another entity. Choosing a name for a business that serves a small local area may not be particularly difficult, but because a website will have worldwide distribution it is trickier to choose a domain name.