ArtSites Updates

Why and When It Makes Sense to Buy Extra Domain Names - Part 2
(posted on 17 Jul 2014)

Why and When It Makes Sense to Buy Additional Domain Names

A few weeks ago, I wrote up a short article discussing Why and When It Makes Sense to Buy Extra Domain Names (Part 1).

Since then, we've gotten some more questions and I wanted to add some additional reasons you may want to consider getting a second domain.

Here are a few more ideas to consider:
  • You just want the domain name.
    Maybe you don't have a specific use for it right now but you might want it in the future so you secure it now.
  • The second domain name is a variation on the first
    Maybe there is a common misspelling, plural/singular, etc. that you'd like to own.
  • You want another website with that domain name.
    You may be thinking about creating another website at some point in the future and simply want to make sure you have the domain name now.
  • You want an email address using that domain name.
    As mentioned in our earlier article - What Your Email Address Says About Your Brand, you may simply want to have an email address with a specific domain name.
  • You want to publish the domain name in some kind of way (business card, etc)
    But, you want to have visitors to that domain name to be sent to your main website.
  • You want to send people to a particular page on your website.
    And, you'd prefer to have a very specific domain name for that page (or subsection) of your main website.
A related question we received was:
When I send people a link to my website, is it enough to just put cherylbailey.ca or do I need the http? Also, what is the difference between the http:// and www.?
The short answer is: It depends a bit on what you are using to send people to your website.

If you are typing your website address into an email message, we would suggest having the http:// part on the front.

In most cases, email programs will turn your domain name without the http:// into a link.

But, there are some older ones that need the http:// to recognize that it is a link.

So, to be safe, it's a good idea to add the http:// part.

Both www.cherylbailey.ca or just cherylbailey.ca will work fine.

It's really a personal preference as both will display the same.

Personally, we prefer to leave out the "www" as it's redundant and people will recognize cherylbailey.ca just as well as www.cherylbailey.ca.

It's also fewer characters to type and your name shows up much more clearly, especially if you are printing it on a card, etc.

We also strongly recommend using mixed case domain names to make them easier to read.

In this case, it would be CherylBailey.ca.

Domain names are case insensitive so you can use any combination of lower and upper case letters.

So, just to be clear, we would suggest using http://CherylBailey.ca in email messages and CherylBailey.ca on printed material.

Please feel free to add the "www", if you like that better.

We hope this clears things up a bit!

If you have any more questions about domain names, please let us know!

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