A great domain name is short, easy to say over the phone, and doesn't need three follow-up emails explaining the spelling. Here's how to find one — and how to actually agree on it with a co-founder or team.
What makes a domain good
- Easy to say out loud. If you have to spell it after saying it, that's friction on every single referral.
- No hyphens, no numbers.
get-my-app.comandgetmyapp4u.comboth quietly cost you traffic. - Short enough to type without thinking. Under 15 characters is a good rough target.
- Matches your actual brand name, or is close enough that people can guess it.
Where to check availability
Don't wait until you've fallen in love with one name — check a shortlist all at once using any domain registrar's search (Namecheap, GoDaddy, Google Domains successor Squarespace Domains all work fine for this). Check the .com first; if it's taken, decide upfront whether a .io, .co, or .app is acceptable to you, rather than deciding that after you're already attached to a name.
The mistake most people make
Most founders check availability one name at a time, get excited about the first available one, and buy it same-day — then regret it a month later when a co-founder or early employee says "wait, we're using that?"
The fix is simple: check availability for 8-10 candidates before anyone gets attached to one, then let everyone who has a stake vote on the shortlist of what's actually available. This avoids the worst version of this process — falling in love with a name, discovering it's taken, and then rushed into a compromise nobody's happy with.
A quick pre-purchase checklist
Before you buy:
- Is the
.com(or your chosen extension) available? - Does a quick search show any obvious trademark conflicts?
- Can you say it once and have someone spell it correctly?
- Does everyone with a say in the decision actually agree — not just the person driving the search?
That last one is the one people skip most often, and it's the one that causes the most regret later.