Assemble

Choosing a Domain Name

Choosing a domain name

Nothing is more immediate than your film’s domain name. Back in the dawn of the internet age, it was much easier to get the one you wanted. However, with domain names increasingly claimed, nowadays it can be a bit more of a stressor deciding which to pick.

But don't despair! We're here with some quick and helpful tips, based on the results we've seen with the websites using Assemble.me as a platform.

Tip 1: Shorter is better

The difference between MyMovieisSoAwesomeYouBetterBelieveIt.com and AwesomeMovie.com is a question of kindness. Would your 85 year old grandmother remember the former domain name? Would she be able to type it in easily? Make it simple, make it short, be kind to your grandmother. It also fits better on a business card! Also, don't forget that hyphens confuse people. When you can avoid them. For instance  xyz-themovie.com would be much better as xyzthemovie.com.

If your film’s name is extremely long, tease out the most obvious. Ex: SidandNancy.com would be a good domain name for a film called ‘The Tumultuous Lives of Punk Legends Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungeon’.

Tip 2: Match your social media

Our films’ presence is increasingly distributed across social media platforms. If you have different names for your profiles and website, it will be that much more of a mental stretch for your potential audience to seek you out. Try to keep your  online presence as consistent as possible, and that definitely includes your domain name.

Tip 3: Dot com beats dot anything else

We say car, you say four wheels. We say hand, you say five fingers. We say internet, what do you say? Most likely “.com!”. In other words, when it comes to domain names, a .com is the obvious conclusion.  Asking people to rethink the self-evident is asking for confusion. It’s not insurmountable, by any means, and many people consciously opt for a .net or a .tv (heck, our website is called Assemble.me for a reason). But, still, best to keep it simple and just go for the obvious.

BUT! For every rule there's a good exception. You can also consider domain hacking, which is shorthand for websites that use domains as part of the name. In this instance, something other than .com could be useful to you. Examples of domain hacking include gaug.es, goingslow.ly, goodperfu.me or, for that matter, assemble.me

Tip 4: Use the name of the film

If you can get it, use the name of the movie. If that fails, use the name of the film and add a qualifier like ‘film’ to the end.  Examples: xyzfilm.com or xyzmovie.com or xyzthemovie.com

Tip 5: Own your domain name

Imagine this scenario: A production company has an intern register the domain name to their new movie. The intern goes off back to college, and the production company finds that the domain name was registered under his name, and can't get ahold of him to get the information to transfer it over or renew it. Lesson learned. Always make sure the domain name information is accessible to those in the company that might need it.

Tip 6: Where are some good places to buy domain names?

We like enom.com. Also, godaddy.com has excellent customer service if you can handle all the extra information you'll have to process to figure out your core needs on the site.

 

OK! Let us know of any thoughts in the comments below. Disagree strongly? We are keen to be corrected.

Most importantly, good luck! Or rather, goodluck.com!

Posted: 6th Aug 2014

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