Canadian Domain Names
by webgarden ~ March 25th, 2009. Filed under: Business, Web Design.The question has come up quite a bit lately is whether or not Canadian businesses should purchase .ca domain names instead of .com? Since deciding on your domain name is almost as important as your business name, I have come up with a few rules of thumb:
- As a Canadian Company always buy both .ca AND .com. The cost is less than $20 per year for each and you can set up your website so that when the user types either version, your site will come up.
- If you can not purchase the .com – stick with the .ca
- Never allow your website designer to purchase your domain for you! We can point you on the right track and even recommend reputable registrars but the domain should always be registered in YOUR name with YOUR credit card. I can’t even tell you how many times this happens! It is very common to hear that a company has allowed the original website developer to purchase their domain name and now that person has disappeared or fallen out of favor. Do yourself a favor and keep your domain name in your name!
- Keep your domain name as short as possible – this will reduce the number of spelling errors while typing.
- Register all your domains with the same Registrar (if possible) This way,you don’t have to hunt around and figure out which domain was registered where – and what the user name and password is on each account?
If you have any questions regarding your domain name, or if need a reputable domain registrar, please give us a call (778) 858-7037 or send us and email: cathy@webgarden.ca -We are always happy to help!
November 25th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
Completely agreed. http://www.canspace.ca registers dot-ca domain names for only $9.75 per year, so the extra cost is indeed minimal.
However the bigger question is whether or not it’s ok to take JUST the dot-ca if the dot-com is already taken. In this day and age with most dot-com’s gone, my personal opinion is yes.