Someone Else Has My Domain, Now What?
There you are ready to get your own interior design website started and you start to look for the perfect domain URL only to find out that the name you want isn't available.
Maybe there's another Jane Smith who already has her website established. Or maybe there's some dick out there that just bought the domain name and is waiting for someone to make him an offer. There may be a less dickish reason why they purchased the domain, but either way, it's not available.
Sonofabitch!
What are your options when you want the perfect name for your interior design website?
Buy The Domain From Someone Else
You could see if you could buy the domain from the person who is holding on to your "I MUST HAVE IT" domain. You might have to shell out a chunk of change after you figure out who you have to talk to. In some cases, that can be the biggest hurdle.
If you want to figure out who owns the domain you want, start your search at WHOIS. You may find their contact info there. It may be private and you'll have to contact the general email address shown there.
Wait For It To Expire
If you're not quite ready to reach out to someone about buying the domain, you can monitor the domain to see when/if it expires. If you do want to go this route, know that if you register through a service to notify you about when a domain expires that there are people out there that monitor when people are waiting for a domain to expire so they can try to snatch it up because they think there's some money to be made.
Get A Different Domain Extension
There's another option, but I'm not going to recommend it. You could register janesmith.info because you can't get janesmith.com but the BIG problem is that people may not remember to type .info and end up at the .com instead.
Pick An Alternative Domain Name
You're in the interior design business. You have lots of options!
If you are set on using your name, then try adding words to your domain name like:
janesmithinteriors.com
janesmithdesigns.com
janesmithinteriordesign.com
janesmithdecor.com
janesmithdoesdesign.com
seejanedesign.com
You could also go another way that might be pretty fun. Think about all the things about design and decorating...
Living Room, Dining Room, Office, Chair, Fireplace, Desk or something like Pop Of Color (well, let's scratch this shitty one).
Using these words could be super fun! Like:
janeslivingroom.com
designsfrommydiningroom.com
fromthedesignoffice.com
bythelightofmyfireplace.com
designingatmydesk.com
I know it feels like the end of the world when you can't register the domain name of your dreams. However, know that you have lots of options when it comes to picking a domain URL for your website.
Hola! I'm Alycia Wicker and I help online interior designers grow their business.
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