I’ve teamed up with Name.Kitchen for a two-part sponsored blog series to talk blogging and creating the perfect site name. Happy learning!
Blogging 101: Choosing a Name that Fits
Choosing the right blog name can be incredibly tough. In fact, if you ask most experienced bloggers, they’ll tell you they’ve considered changing their own blog name at least ten times. Often, the site names we selected when we first began no longer represent us or the work we do today. My blog began five years ago, as Glitter & Pearls.
I started a wedding blog a few months after that – Glitter Weddings – in the midst of planning my own wedding. I figured out fairly quickly that juggling two blogs was pure madness (thank goodness for that!) and merged the two into what you know today as Glitter, Inc.; and though I love my blog’s name, I think about changing it all of the time. That’s right, like most bloggers, I’m having an identity crisis.
Back then, choosing a blog was limited to the “.com”. When it comes to creating your digital identity today, you now have choice when it comes to selecting a domain name for your website. Lots of it. In a rollout that began in late 2013, hundreds of new domain endings that we call ‘not-coms’ — words to the right of that second dot (everything from .COFFEE to .WTF to .LIFE) — are now available when creating the URL for your website. These ‘not-com’ options allow you to create a domain name that is memorable, meaningful and of course, available. Which is big, because trust me, every variation of a clever name that I think I’ve stumbled upon is already taken.
There really is so much pressure to pick the right name when starting (or growing) a blog or business.
Your main goals when choosing a site name:
- The name should be representative of who you and your business are.
- It should be unique enough to remember while still being fairly simple (think: easy to spell and remember without having to write it down when meeting at a party, etc.).
- The name should be flexible enough to grow with. Think about the future: what if you decide to add a consulting arm to your business or you open up a shop to go along with your blog? Choose a name that can work for all of your business potential.
For amazing name ideas …
If you are thinking of starting a blog or a website, you’ll want to check out Name.Kitchen. Name.Kitchen is a destination to celebrate the idea of name creation and provides first-hand perspective directly from entrepreneurs who are leading the ‘not-com’ movement.
Get Inspired.
What’s the story behind your business name? Learn from these entrepreneurs, and discover why they went “not-com” with their domain name and check out Donuts for hundreds of fresh and relevant new domain names. You can also find inspiration from Name.Kitchen’s “I am.___” video series showcasing businesses leveraging naming creativity + innovation.
When coming up with that perfectly unique blog name, there’s so much flexibility in choosing more creative names online; not to mention the major benefits of a not-com: it’s more memorable, meaningful, available, innovative and they perform just as well, if not better, as dot-com names, in every way. That’s not to say that you can’t of course go the traditional route, but I am loving the creativity of a not-com.
Ready to get cooking with Name.Kitchen? Claim your name here.
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Name.Kitchen. Thank you so much for supporting the sponsors that make Glitter, Inc. possible.
images via unsplash by Julia Caesar // kikki.k
Rachel says
Choosing a name is so tough. I asked a ton of friends for words that described me and that really helped.
faythe eloise says
Beautiful article, when we chose a name we wrote down lists that described our idea readers and then our brand
Leah says
Nicely written and informative, thank you❤
Mai says
So right! Choosing a name is tough. I changed my blog name twice before. This article made me think if it fits me….
Thank you<3