Common Domain Name Mistakes to Avoid

Most domain-related headaches are avoidable with a bit of foresight. Here are the mistakes that come up again and again.

Letting Registration Lapse

Forgetting to renew, or having an expired payment method on file, can mean losing a domain you've built years of brand equity around.

Registering Under a Personal Employee Account

If a domain is registered under an individual employee's personal account rather than the business's own account, ownership disputes can arise if that person leaves the company.

Skipping the Trademark Check

Registering a name that conflicts with an existing trademark can lead to a forced rebrand after you've already invested in marketing and materials.

Ignoring Domain Privacy

Leaving your personal contact information exposed in the public WHOIS database invites spam and, in rare cases, more serious harassment.

Choosing a Name That's Hard to Say or Spell

A clever but confusing name (excessive hyphens, unusual spellings) makes word-of-mouth referrals harder than they need to be.

Not Securing Common Variations

Skipping the .com or common misspellings of your domain leaves room for competitors or opportunists to register confusingly similar names.

Further Reading

• Contact Our Domains Team
• Business Email Plans
• ICANN