Struggling to think of a business name - please help

Lostinspace

Hello, as the title suggests I'm struggling to think of a business name. I'm hoping to register as a sole trader doing website design and development. However, I'm really having trouble thinking of a name for the company. I'd prefer not to trade under my own name.

I'm looking for suggestions really...if anyone wants to PM me with a suggestion then I'd be very grateful. Or alternatively if you could point me in the right direction. Thank you

robinph

In the absence of any random word you can think of then could always use your initials like ABC <whatever-it-is-you-do>.

buckled

If you want a random name have look the site below.

http://www.company-name-generator.com/

hope it helps.

Colm_purchase

How about something like lostinspace?

Jesus Wept

buckled wrote: »

If you want a random name have look the site below.

http://www.company-name-generator.com/

hope it helps.

moaninghorse moaninghorse.com is available!

J_Wholesale

Adding a geographic element to the same can help a lot when it comes to search engines. For example: Waterford Web Whatever. The likelihood of the domain names being available is much greater, and it gives you a leg up when potential customers are searching for a local supplier (web designers in Waterford).

www.designyourbusiness.ie is available.... or at least theres no website using it at the moment

Mr Biz

Thinking out load here..hows about

iDzine.ie (available)
Its What I Do

You could be creative/quirky with logo etc..
Just see there's a design company in the US http://www.idzine.us/cu.html Take advantage of the .ie domain!

LauraOrlagh

As suggested already if you can get a geographic element in your name it would be even better i.e. would it be a certain area in Ireland you would be targeting or the whole country? Something very simplistic like IWDD (Irish Web Design & Development) could work.. I suppose it depends on your market and who you will be targeting, maybe you're looking for a wackier name too.. just an idea

wishful thinker

plenty of these type of businesses around....where do you expect to market yourself....how do you stand out from the other noise.....a good name can help......what are of ireland are you in?

Lostinspace

Thanks for the replies.

J_Wholesale - Thanks for the tip. I was thinking about incorporating a local element to it as well. However, I don't want to limit myself to just one particular area as I will hopefully have clients across Ireland.

Deleted User - Thanks. Maybe a little long. I probably wouldn't consider more than 12 letters in a url address.

Mr Biz - Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately it has a very cheap ring to it. Also I don't want to be confusing people with the spelling.

LauraOrlagh - Thanks for the advice. I'm based in Cork but will be targeting customer nationwide.

wishful thinker - Yes there are plenty of those type of businesses around. I do believe there is a market there for me. A lot of people are setting up their own businesses and need an online presence. I'm based in Cork but will be marketing my business locally initially and see how it goes from there.

I've been thinking about a few names if anyone wants to offer their thoughts:

Web Weaver - www.webweaver.ie
Web Wave Media - www.webwavemedia.ie
Wave Media - www.wavemedia.ie

Thank you

LauraOrlagh

I love Web Weaver, catchy and I love the alliteration

Lostinspace

LauraOrlagh wrote: »

I love Web Weaver, catchy and I love the alliteration

Thanks LauraOrlagh. I did out a logo and slogan. Let me know what you think. Thanks.

PaulPinnacle

I like it. Defiantly a memorable twist on the standard 'text' logos.

I personally like the name, I just wonder if it might give negative/unwanted connotations to 'dreamweaver'? (I wouldn't imagine this is a big issue, but said I'd mention it)

I'd also take care with the tag line. Be sure not to try and oversell your offerings. If you have extensive SEO/marketing experience, then great. If you don't, be sure not to ruin your credibility by overselling your offerings (it's a big step up from saying "Websites will be designed with SEO in mind" and having SEO services as part of your tag line).

EIREHotspur

Not liking that at all lostinspace.

Web Weaver sounds like a Weaver who sells their wares on the Web.
The logo kind of says the same to me.

I think webwavemedia is too longwinded but wavemedia is catchy.

Also you would be better using media instead of web because I am sure you could broaden what you offer to include a bit of logo design etc.

Every kid with Dreamweaver can put together websites these days so competition is saturated out there.

You need to offer different services to compete.

Good luck to you!

robinph

I'd have put the tag line in different text without the sketchy effect on it.

PaulPinnacle

Also worth remembering with any logo, will it be scalable?

If you go to use an image at small scales (or even for a 16x16 favicon or a profile picture for FB/twitter/blogs/etc), have you got the ability to take an element that still conveys the brand (you could easily decide to go with a personal picture for some of those, but it's nice to have the option).

It's a great start, but defiantly some tweaking needed on it.

Lostinspace

PaulPinnacle wrote: »

I like it. Defiantly a memorable twist on the standard 'text' logos.

I personally like the name, I just wonder if it might give negative/unwanted connotations to 'dreamweaver'? (I wouldn't imagine this is a big issue, but said I'd mention it)

I'd also take care with the tag line. Be sure not to try and oversell your offerings. If you have extensive SEO/marketing experience, then great. If you don't, be sure not to ruin your credibility by overselling your offerings (it's a big step up from saying "Websites will be designed with SEO in mind" and having SEO services as part of your tag line).

Hi Paul,

I understand what you are saying. Thank you for the advice. I'll tailor the tagline a bit. I'm learning about SEO at the moment but maybe for the time being it's probably not suitable to put on my tagline. I'm hoping to register the name as Web Weaver Design (Although there is another 'web design' company in Dublin called www.webweavermedia.com). I didn't know there was negative/unwanted connotations associated with dreamweaver? If so maybe you could send on a link if you spot any articles in relation to that.

In relation to the logo. I designed it in Illustrator so it is scalable. I'm also looking at designing a few other logos so I can show it to family/friends and see what they think. I'll then choose the most appropriate one.

Thanks Paul

PaulPinnacle

Lostinspace wrote: »

I'm hoping to register the name as Web Weaver Design (Although there is another 'web design' company in Dublin called www.webweavermedia.com).

That's a bit of a concern. I've heard of the CRO having issues with 'similar' names a lot less connected than that. So you could run into issues there. It might be worth having a chat to a 'formation agent' or directly with the CRO relating to that one. I'm sure the other company would view it as a case of 'passing off' on your part.

Even if you're 'technically' allowed to use the name, it then becomes a question of if you should. Trying to differentiate from the other company, especially if they're larger and more established, will be difficult. If you hope to get much of your business from word of mouth (as I'd assume), when people google 'web weaver' and come across the competition, it could have negative results.

Lostinspace wrote: »

I didn't know there was negative/unwanted connotations associated with dreamweaver? If so maybe you could send on a link if you spot any articles in relation to that.

It's possible these issues only exist in the back of my head It's not a problem with the software per se, more the common misuse of it by many 'amateurs'.

Seeing those 'dreamweaver chunks' turn up on a website (the ones you can spot from a mile away, that are totally non standard compliant and can cause serious compatibility issues) always makes me cringe. If the HTML/CSS is put into the software correctly by a good designer, then it's great, it's just that with the visual editor Dreamweaver encourages a lot of 'armatures' to give it a go, without any attempt to try and nudge them in the right direction (e.g. imagine DW with an integrated W3C validator and Firebug... now that tool I'd like).

It also has the potential to put the idea of "hmmm, I've got dreamweaver too. Maybe I'm better off doing this myself rather than pay this guy" into a potential customers head.

It's not a big deal, perhaps it's limited to just me (the +600,000 results for I hate Dreamweaver suggest otherwise ), it's just not 'ideal' in my own opinion.

Lostinspace wrote: »

In relation to the logo. I designed it in Illustrator so it is scalable.

Take care there. There's a slight and subtle difference. You have it in vector format, so you 'can scale it'.... but 'is it scalable'?

If/when you reduce it down in scale, does the logo still work? Can you still read it? Is it still putting your brand across clearly?

It could be as simple as just using one element (e.g. the first 'W') for the smaller images, or including a 'symbol' into the logo design. All comes down to personal preference really. Although I'd suggest addressing the CRO issues before you put too much work into it.

Axwell

PaulPinnacle wrote: »

That's a bit of a concern. I've heard of the CRO having issues with 'similar' names a lot less connected than that. So you could run into issues there. It might be worth having a chat to a 'formation agent' or directly with the CRO relating to that one. I'm sure the other company would view it as a case of 'passing off' on your part.

Lostinspace you are a sole trader so registering a business name you can register whatever business name you want even if it is the same or similar to another. A qucik search on the CRO website for business names will show plenty of results for the same business name. Only when registering a Limited Company does the issue of similar names or using the same name become an issue. You arent allowed registered a Limited Company with the same name as an exisiting one or trade under a name which is similar and provides the same service.

PaulPinnacle

Axwell wrote: »

..you can register whatever business name you want even if it is the same or similar to another.

While technically you can (the CRO wash their hands on the 'checking' of business names), doing so legally and safely is slightly different.

I'm happy to admit I've no legal experience and am open to correction, but from the research I did myself this was always the 'type' of advice given. It's not a major concern for most local businesses, so you will commonly see the names as Axwell mentioned, but where you're providing all but the same service, with the potential to serve the same clients and with basically the same name... I'd proceed with caution.

Do a bit of digging and you'll find plenty of information relating to the risks of civil legal action relating to 'passing off' and IP rights....

Whereas no exclusivity is afforded business names – any number of identical names can be registered – it is important to remember that you must take care to avoid using a name that is too similar to an existing business as this could result in that other person/company taking legal proceedings in a “passing off” action. Equally one could easily infringe a registered Trade Mark.

Axwell

What it comes down to really in your case Lostinspace you have already pointed out yourself, a company exists with a domain with the same words as yours and the same line of business. When I do a search in Google for Web Weaver searching in Ireland theirs comes up first, albeit a poor website and because there isnt many other businesses with that name. If you set yourself up you would appear along side them with little effort.

Putting aside any legal issues etc for a minute, the fact someone will see that site alongside yours in the search results is just too confusing and could lead to you losing clients and work because people contact them thinking its your business, they just see the name and think of yeah that must be it. Better to go with something somewhat unique if possible that when you search for it there isnt any confusion over it or at least if someone has a similar name its a completely different service. Also some people try choose something beginning with 'A' as you appear first in alphabetical listings etc.

Lostinspace

Thanks Paul and Axwell for your feedback in relation to this. It is very much appreciated. I have decided to go with another name for my business as there are some points that you both raised which would definitely concern me going forward.

Firstly, the negative connotations in relation to Dreamweaver are slightly worrying. Also Axwell, you pointed out that even if I got on the same Google page as the Dublin company then I may potentially lose work because of that. I may gain work as well but it's probably a risk I'm not prepared to take at the moment. I also don't want to face the hassle of being reported a couple of months down the line either.

In relation to the logo Paul, I'll make sure it is 'scalable' as it does need to be recognisable as a favicon or for social networking sites. I'm a bit conscious of 'dragging the sh*t' out of this thread so I can send anyone my proposed business name via PM if they want. Just let me know.

Thank you

Axwell

No worries, feel free to send the pm

PaulPinnacle

Glad you found some of the input helpful. For what it's worth, I agree with the decision you've made 100%. It has far more positives than negatives and gives you more options going forward (e.g. if you ever want to convert the business name to a company).

If you'd like any input on the new name, I'd be more than happy to give my thoughts. So feel free to PM me.