Choosing a Domain Name For Your Website

Naming is hard. You'd like a name to be short, expressive, fun, memorable. Choosing a domain name (the website address that goes in the browser address bar), serious pain ensues. The first 100 names you think of are already taken. ("allthegoodnamesaretaken.com" is taken!) 90 of the next 100 are, too. Do you want to go cu.te with d.ot placeme.nt? Even if you find some you like, your domain name isn't just for you, it's for others, too. You're unlikely to forget your own website name. "Memorable" means OTHER people can remember it.

You could email people, but it can be hard to get an overall direction from a bunch of text replies. You could ask for numeric ratings, but people are more likely to do it if it's easy. Even if you get the ratings, you have to use a spreadsheet (or if you're ambitious, paper!) to calculate results.

Using Thinkmeter, you can create a meter and add a few options in a minute or two and send out a link (no login necessary). Your friends follow the link and can rate and give comments (no login necessary). Here's what a friend would see:

We don't list anything publicly, so share by email only and your domain name candidates will stay private. (Be careful: if you share on Twitter or Facebook, the meter will rapidly show up in search engines!) Pick friends who have different backgrounds to get diverse opinions, especially those from your "target market" (the people you wish to reach with your website).

Thinkmeter encourages ratings and comments before seeing what other respondents think, so you get independent feedback. Then, after responding, everyone can further discuss the results together.

Using Thinkmeter is quick, fun, and helps you make a better decision.

For more information on how Thinkmeter summarizes the results, take the tour, or try it now.