Website domain name?

Kbeg3

I am about to purchase a domain name for my new website but am wondering what to go with. Some examples below, also which is better '.ie' or '.com'

For example if my name was Joe Bloggs

www.joebloggs.ie
www.joebloggsphotography.ie
www.bloggsphotography.ie
www.bloggs-photo.ie

etc, etc. Please help:)

If you have any other ideas please say

Fajitas!

I went for alhigginsphotography.com because I want it to deal with purely the photographic side of my adventures - I plan to have another one or two different alhiggins domain names for other bits and pieces over the next few years.

I went for .com pretty much out ease and the fact that I could be moving country, and would rather not have .ie in another country - Everyone knows .com!

Mycroft H

Fajitas! wrote: »

I went for alhigginsphotography.com because I want it to deal with purely the photographic side of my adventures - I plan to have another one or two different alhiggins domain names for other bits and pieces over the next few years.

I went for .com pretty much out ease and the fact that I could be moving country, and would rather not have .ie in another country - Everyone knows .com!

As far as I know .coms are cheaper than .ies

Fajitas!

Aha, there's that - Though if you wanted an .ie, I wouldn't let price stop you!

smelltheglove

I went with rachelfoxphotography.com I wanted rachelfox.ie short and sweetbut all the paperwork that goes with .ie made it not worth the effort, with .com it is quick and easy with .ie for a business they request something from your bank, vat registration and quite a bit more.

There is always .net or .org but I would be more inclined for .com.

Phototoxin

im joerogers.info its information after all =p

Thoie

As far as I remember, if you want a .ie you have to have a company registered with that name in Ireland. Besides being more expensive, the .ie domain has hoops to jump through, whereas you can get a .com just by handing over some cash.

I tell a lie...
Personal names have been available since October 2007. See here to see if your name is available: http://www.pdn.ie/?e=mc2&dom=joebloggs.ie (change joebloggs there for your own name - the search form is a bit borked).

See here for general info on .ie and some of the differences between that and .com
http://www.domainregistry.ie/index.php

challengemaster

afaik, all the restrictions on the .ie domains are no longer in existance... atleast I think I remember reading that somewhere

liamtinney

There is also .eu

Deliverance XXV

The restrictions are still in place for .ie domains.

They are more expensive but they have better SEO values for Irish searches than .com domains.
It may sound like more hassle with all the paperwork but if it's a personal name you're after it's extremely handy.
All you do is photocopy your passport or birth cert and email it on to whoever you're buying the domain off. Simple yeah?

Getting something other than your name requires you have a registered business etc.

So if you want...
www.joebloggs.ie or
www.joe-bloggs.ie or
www.joejohnbloggs.ie or
www.jbloggs.ie etc...
You would need just proof of identification.

But if you want...
www.joebloggsphotography.ie or
www.joebloggscowtippingservices.ie
You would have to have a business/corporate name set up called joebloggs photography.

There are bits and bobs I'm leaving out but that's the gist of .ie domains.

Here is a link which will give you the full description/limitation of .ie domains.

AnCatDubh

a .com will cost about $10 or about €7 - that's if your desired domain is available. Adding the word photography at the end will increase your chance.

You can also buy it through google and they will auto configure your email services which they will manage (the domain purchase is only fronted by google - its really a godaddy purchase). Check my post on Rachael's Thread for more ideas.

I'd opt for a non hyphenated domain name if possible. Also best if it can be kept relatively short to prevent typo's for your target audience. The word photography itself is long so increasing it to johnpatrickjohnstonphotography.com would just become ridiculous.

shepthedog

Theres no big deal with getting a .ie address..
People seem to have a hangup on this from years back..

All it requires is a copy of your passport/drivers lic and its all done very quickly...
If you want your name .com and its gone then .ie is the next best thing...
Should you think about specialising in photography from Ireland then it makes sense aswell.. Like with most things it depends what you really want and what your needs are.

jpfahy

You should buy both names, .ie and .com and set up a forwarder from one to the other. (only have to pay hosting for one) that's a better arrangement for the future if the website becomes successful

shepthedog

jpfahy wrote: »

You should buy both names, .ie and .com and set up a forwarder from one to the other. (only have to pay hosting for one) that's a better arrangement for the future if the website becomes successful

This is probably the best and most logical suggestion of them all.. That way you are totally covered..

sineadw

I prefer .ie for SEO and the legitimacy, but you might want to read this

Marcus

Kbeg3 wrote: »

I am about to purchase a domain name for my new website but am wondering what to go with. Some examples below, also which is better '.ie' or '.com'

For example if my name was Joe Bloggs

www.joebloggs.ie
www.joebloggsphotography.ie
www.bloggsphotography.ie
www.bloggs-photo.ie

etc, etc. Please help:)

If you have any other ideas please say

The key piece of information required to give you advice here is what you intend to use this site for...

As Sineadw mentions, your domain name is a key SEO tool that can be used to help drive traffic. People who are searching with the intent to employ a photographer use "photography" and "photographer" as search terms. Those looking to simply view photos on the other hand search for "photos" and "photo". www.joebloggsphotography.ie with a page title of "Dublin based Photographer" will match "photography", "photographer" and "dublin" in search queries.

So the question is what are you going to use this site for?

Again with the question of .ie vs .com, if you are selling a service, people (in Ireland) trust .ie over .com and search engines also promote .ie domains higher than .com domains within search results generated at Google.ie.

Dashes are useful when words are not dictionary terms. Search engines are intelligent enough to split up common words with in a word concatenation. "dublinphotos" is easily split into "dublin photos", but "ralphotos" on the other hand could be "ralph otos" or "ral photos"... you get the idea. If you name is a common name like Paul Smith "paulsmith" you are okay, but if your name is very unusual, then you might be better to help the search engine with the use of dashes.

The other point worth mentioning is that once you create a site that includes your name, that's it - you're public. This may or may not be what you are looking for. Sometimes people like to hide behind an alias in order to keep their anonymity. Again depends on what you are looking to do with the site.

Some people have mentioned problems getting a .ie domain. For the record, there is no problem getting pretty much any .ie domain. You just have to know how. Blacknight.ie is the place to go to register .ie domains and to get help.

On the question of cost, €7 vs. €20. Ehhh... that's 3 pints (probably less now). This is YOUR website, invest the 3 pints in it!

Hope this helps.

Covey

As Marcus said there is no problem getting an irish domain. Mine, eyeblinks.ie is not my name and all I needed was a copy of my passport and a connection or reason for wanting that domain.

You should also consider a generic name as every tom dick and harry has xyzphotography.xyz. Unless you've made a name in photography you're one of a very large pot. Consider the area you want to sell/promote into and look for something that will stand out there.

T.

City-Exile

I went for POSe.ie because I thought peadarosullivanphotography.com was too long and I wanted something catchy.
POS being my initials and pose being short, meant that it's easy to remember.

It was very easy to register the business name.
Just my take on things.

Dades

jpfahy wrote: »

You should buy both names, .ie and .com and set up a forwarder from one to the other. (only have to pay hosting for one) that's a better arrangement for the future if the website becomes successful

+2 for this.

A .com will cost you less than $10 to add on to your .ie name.

Regarding registering .ie names, if you want something other than your name (in which case you just provide ID) you can register a business name online at the CRO site for just €20. They'll send you a cert within 10 days or so, and you just use the number to register the .ie with an online registrar.

I recently registered my daughter's first name as a business name to get her a nice personal .ie domain - as they won't allow first names only under the personal name rules.

I've used Always Amber a few times and find them very cheap for .ie, and offer free web forwarding if you have hosting elsewhere.

Covey

Dades wrote: »

if you want something other than your name (in which case you just provide ID) you can register a business name online at the CRO site for just €20. They'll send you a cert within 10 days or so, and you just use the number to register the .ie with an online registrar.

you can do this, but it is no longer a requirement. Also, a registered business name does not neccessarily prevent someone else using the same name.