Coming up with a good company or brand name is no small undertaking. Designing a name requires careful thought, juggling with words and applying a few important principles to make sure nothing spoils the final result. In this tutorial, we outline the most important aspects of creating names for companies and brands.
How to create a company name? Start with a domain name
Today’s businesses usually have their own websites, right? No matter what stage of your business you’re at – you want to create a name for a new company, you want to refresh your branding, or maybe you’re looking for a name for your next brand – at some stage you’re bound to face the need to buy a website address. That’s why we’re starting this tutorial with web domain issues.
Before you start gathering ideas, it’s worth knowing the rules for building effective web addresses. Your company or brand name will be better remembered by customers if they can quickly search for it online. In that case, let’s take a look at how to create a business name that simultaneously meets the conditions for websites.
Internet domain name – which one to choose?
To be able to create a name that is at the same time optimised for the web, we will first talk about what a web domain is and how to choose one.
Any website address can simply be called a domain: address and domain are interchangeable names. However, domains are divided into different levels – take a look at the example below.
Our company website address consists of a first level domain, which is the .com suffix, and a second level domain, which is the company name. For now, we will focus on the 1st level domain, because you can use different endings to create the name already at the stage of inventing it.
Types of web domains – which will be right for you?
There are two schools of thought when it comes to choosing a 1st level domain: the traditional and the modern. The traditional school says that you should choose a domain from known and trusted endings. These include national and global endings. Below we list some of the most popular endings:
.uk.com domain – it is worth choosing it when the company / brand has a national range,
.eu – a good choice when you plan to expand into European markets
.com, .info, .org, .net – appropriate endings for companies with international reach.
These domain endings are always a good choice, they are popular and web users know them well. Any of them will definitely be suitable if the business you operate in is of a serious and formal nature.
The modern school, on the other hand, says to play with domain endings and use them in creative ways. In this way, you can create interesting names that will relate to a specific industry or be brilliant names within themselves. There are literally thousands of such domain names, so we will present just a few examples.
If you’re planning to start a graphic design agency, your website could end with a .design domain, and if you’re building an online shop then a .store ending would be great. You can also use country endings in a similar way. For example, .tv is actually a domain reserved for the Tuvalu Islands located in the Pacific Ocean, but because of its association with television, it is used for websites that provide streaming services, for example.
If your industry is one of the creative industries and your target group is web savvy, then choosing an out-of-the-ordinary domain name can increase your company or brand recognition. Before you start coming up with names, you may want to review a list of domain endings. This will keep your mind open to making interesting connections as you generate ideas. You can review the different types of domains on the English Wikipedia pages: functional domains or country domains.
A catchy company name won’t come by itself, so don’t wait for inspiration
How do you create a company or brand name? Certainly, do not wait for a sudden dazzle, but take the task seriously – a good name is often developed over a long period of time. Set a time when you will work on the name. Let it be a specific entry in your calendar. Of course, you do not have to work on the name alone, it might as well be a team effort. During this time, devote yourself completely to the topic and do not allow yourself to be distracted.
Methods to help you design your company name
There are well-proven ways, definitely making the job of coming up with names easier. Creating a company name using these few methods will be much easier.
Create a map of words and associations
List all the words and phrases related to the industry or business that the new name will be associated with. This is a very important stage that will allow you to build a word bank. The bank, in turn, will be used to construct and combine words together into attractive names. At first, write out each association, then group those that are similar. If you want to build a name in combination with foreign words, make sure they are simple and generally understandable despite language barriers.
Use dictionaries
Once you have built up a bank of basic words, work on them with a dictionary of synonyms and a dictionary of phraseological compounds. These will help you find similar words and broaden your perspective even further.
Look for sayings
Also check for popular sayings or aphorisms within your industry – these can be the basis for a creative name that will stick in customers’ minds for a long time.
Don’t be afraid of password generators
Online password generators are not perfect tools, but they can nevertheless be useful during the creative process. They mainly work well in English, but typing individual phrases from the created word bank into the generator can bring unexpectedly good results. The generator can give you some good ideas which you can then improve yourself.
Combine, separate, create!
With the materials thus prepared, all that remains is to start combining the words together and indulge yourself in the process. Don’t limit yourself, this is the moment when every idea is good, the time for verification will come in the next step.
And don’t forget…
Creating a business name requires you to consider several important factors. Follow these tips and for sure your company or brand name, and later its website address, will be really good.
Don’t use numbers in the name
Numbers don’t usually look good in a name. A website address that contains them often looks suspicious or SPAM-related. If the use of a number or numeral is not properly justified, such as 24-hour service, then it is better to drop it.
Not too long, not too short
The length of the name should be neither too short nor too long. In terms of domain names, it should ideally be between 20 and 55 characters (without spaces, of course). Such a name will be easier to remember and will look better. You can easily check the number of characters e.g. in Microsoft Word or online character counters.
Check domain availability
It’s not enough to create a name with the right domain suffix. If you finally decide on a name, you also need to know how to check if the domain is free. You will do this through a domain finder at any domain registrar. If the name is free, purchase it as soon as possible.
How to check if a name is good?
You’ve managed to build up a rich word bank, and making creative company or brand names has even gone smoothly, so this is a good time to verify your ideas. You can do this by using a few simple ways.
Say the names out loud
Surprisingly, this is one of the best ways to verify the quality of a name. Pronounce the name preferably as the full website address along with the chosen domain suffix. You’ll instantly hear if it sounds good or if there’s something odd about it. If you are not convinced by the name, drop it.
Save the name as a domain name
We come back to the topic of domains again. It is very important that the name also looks good as a website address. Sometimes names written with spaces seem awesome, but they lose their impact when written without spaces.
Make a phone call to a friend
Already have some of your favourites? That’s perfectly fine. Call someone who wasn’t involved in the process of creating your company or brand name and dictate your ideas to them. Ask that person to write them down on a piece of paper, and send you a photo of their notes when you’re done talking. If submitting the name over the phone is difficult in itself and requires spelling, drop it right away. Then reject names that have been misspelled by the caller – they would probably cause a lot of problems in the future.
Now you know what name to choose for your company
We have included in this guide a lot of knowledge on how to create a company or brand name. After all, we have been doing this for several years, so we have a lot of experience.
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We encourage you, dear reader, to create a unique name and website address. However, if you are wondering what company name would be best for your business, we are here for you! If you need help in creating a catchy name, please send us a message at office@jaaqob.com.
