And if you want a .com name , you should have done it yesterday! According to a recent study there are over 105 million.com names being held.  But only around 25-30% of these are active. The rest, if you are cynical, are probably held by someone happily sitting on the name waiting to sell if for an inflated price.

This has happened to me. I was interested in a certain domain name looked it up. It was taken but there was no website. I contacted the owner and asked if he was willing to sell it. He was. For £10,000! I declined and went for a name that was free.  I wonder if he will ever get that price. He may well do as meaningful names become ever more scarce.

If you are set on a name that is taken but not active there is little that can be done apart from buying the name. You could consider using a domain name broker who will aim to acquire the name for the best price, but of course this is not free and you will have to pay for the name as well as the services of the broker. It is up to you to decide if the price is worth paying. When you acquire the name you then own it for as long as you want providing it is maintained.

Not that I condone this in anyway but the reason there are so many names occupied by cyber squatters is that it is extremely good for business. In 2012 the top sale for .co.uk sites was webhosting.co.uk which sold for $500,000. This is way behind the top .com sale (and world record) sex.com which sold for an amazing $13 million. Not far behind was hotels.com selling for $11 million.

One way to avoid paying extortionate pay-outs of a  domain name is to dispute ownership.  The number of domain disputes has risen sharply in recent years with 2012 being the highest recorded ever. The problem is these cases are rarely successful for unprotected names and work mostly with trademarked names.

Steps are being made to make naming fairer with ICANN the organisation that oversees the assignment of domains introducing the option to apply for a custom top-level domain such as .google. A great idea, the price tag of $185,000 (without a guarantee you will get the desired name!) has put off a few of the smaller businesses!  The question is would this idea take off even if it were cheaper? Or would .com still be preferred as it is so ubiquitous now.

Nominet,  the intent registry for the .uk domain names are looking at shortening the .co.uk to just .uk and scan sites for viruses. This would certainly increase security but would only be for those sites with the new .uk. A whole sale shift of name would be needed to reap any benefits.

So everyone who is anyone will be chasing their desired domain name and there is little protection for your desired name. So the answer is be quick and if the name has gone it is worthwhile becoming a bit creative and imaginative with the naming of your website.

What are your thoughts? Have you had to come a bit more creative with your website name? What did you come up with?

You’ve done your research, chosen a web developer (hopefully DP Web Development!) and they have built you a fantastic shiny new website. Job done. You can relax and reap the rewards.

No!

Don’t make the mistake that many businesses make by viewing a website as finished!

A web site is never “finished”. Like a living organism it continually needs to grow, change and improve.

Why?

Generally a website exists to give information or to sell goods or a service.

For this to succeed users have to go to the website, usually several times, before deciding to buy.  This will be fine at first but if they go back to continually and find the same (old) content they will cease to come. Why would they? How many times would you go to the same website with the same look and content? It is like reading the same book over and over again.

What’s more I can guarantee that your competitors will be actively trying to outdo you with regular updates. It is no longer who has a website but who has the best website. They are the ones with up to date content and relative information.

Technology is constantly evolving (and improving)

The web is constantly changing. A website that is left alone will become obsolete surprisingly quickly. Users have come expect certain things when accessing a website. If the website they go to does not have these applications they will click the back button and go somewhere that does.

Search algorithms changes frequently

Search engine algorithms change frequently. So while you may be at the top of the rankings once if you do not keep up to date you will see your position slowly slide down the rankings. For example links to social networking sites are playing an increasingly important role whereas Meta tags are largely ignored by the major browsers.  Regular updated sites are always favoured by search engines. A daily update is ideal, once a week should be the least you are aiming for.

Maintenance is key

Above are just some of the reasons that a website need to be maintained.

DP Web Development offers a maintenance service that will keep your website up to date, working and current. We can advise on any new features and applications that may enhance your website and how to make you text Search Engine Friendly. If there any new web techniques we are able to advise and implement as needed. For example the new HTML5 will soon be the standard websites should be coded in.

Why not contact Doug at DP Web Development for an initial chat?

All comments appreciated!