A domain name is the human-readable address people type to find your site (like yourbusiness.com), and you choose one by picking a short, memorable name you can legally use and keep for years.
Think of it like your storefront sign plus street address online: the domain is the name, and DNS (the Domain Name System) points that name to the server where your website lives. Your domain is not the same thing as your hosting, your website, or your URL path (for example, yourbusiness.com is the domain, and yourbusiness.com/services/roof-repair is a URL). If you want help matching your domain, brand, and site structure so it all feels consistent to customers in Orlando and Central Florida, our web design for Orlando businesses work usually starts right here.
When you’re choosing a name, aim for something people can say out loud, spell on the first try, and remember after a quick referral. In practice, that means: (1) keep it short and clean, (2) avoid odd spellings, extra letters, and trendy punctuation, (3) skip numbers and hyphens unless you truly have no alternative, (4) pick a name that still fits if you add services later (a dentist who adds implants or a law firm that adds estate planning), and (5) don’t rely on the domain to explain everything, your homepage and service pages do that job, which matters when you’re thinking about the difference between a website, a webpage, and a landing page.
| Extension | When it’s a good fit | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| .com | Most local businesses | Most familiar, easiest to remember, usually the first guess. |
| .net | When .com is unavailable | Fine as a backup, but many people still type .com by habit. |
| .org | Nonprofits and associations | Commonly tied to organizations, can confuse buyers if you are a for-profit. |
| .us | US-focused branding | Works, but feels less common than .com for local service businesses. |
| Newer options (like .law, .dental, .agency) | Brand-led campaigns | Can work, but many people forget the ending, so it often performs best as a secondary domain that redirects to your main .com. |
Here’s the simple process we recommend for most Orlando small businesses:
- Start with your brand name first. If your business name is memorable, try to match it (or get very close) with a .com.
- Check for confusion. Search Google for the exact name and close spellings, and check that local competitors are not already using something nearly identical.
- Do a basic legal check. Domain availability does not mean the name is safe to use. Look for federal trademark conflicts through the USPTO search tools, and if you’re operating under a DBA in Florida, review Florida’s fictitious name rules so your public-facing name and paperwork do not collide in an ugly way later.
- Confirm you can live with it. Say it out loud, type it on your phone, and imagine telling it to a patient, client, or property manager on a call.
- Grab the common variations. If your name is short, buying a close typo version or the most common plural can protect you (and you can redirect those to the main site).
- Lock in your brand handles. If social media matters in your industry, match the domain to your handles when possible.
If you’re building on WordPress, the domain decision also affects your long-term admin setup, email, logins, and plugins, so it helps to understand what WordPress is and why businesses use it before you commit to a name that boxes you in.
After you buy the domain, set auto-renew, keep registrar access in a secure place, and turn on domain privacy if it’s offered. Then connect DNS to your hosting, set up professional email ([email protected]), and use 301 redirects if you ever rebrand or swap domains so you don’t lose existing traffic and links. If you want us to handle the technical side, including DNS, SSL, backups, and updates, our WordPress hosting and maintenance plans cover the stuff that tends to break at the worst time.
