What’s a Good Domain Name?

The Internet’s domain name system (DNS) allows us to associate domain names with IP addresses to enable us to access one’s website easier. Christopher Heng suggests tips on how to choose your domain name. His tips and that of Jumpline.com are generalized as follows.

1. You are getting a domain name for your website. Most likely, your domain name should be your website.
2. Prefer brand name domains rather than generic name domains.
3. Choose a domain name that is as short as possible, if not then make it as easy to remember as possible
4. Try to avoid hyphenated names.
5. Avoid trademarked names.
6. Do not shell out too much money on pricy domain names since they should generally have competitive prices by now.
7. Register that name as soon as possible
8. Try choosing an appropriate Top Level Domain (TLD)

More on TLDs

According to the Internet Corporations for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the TLD is the rightmost label in the domain name. There are different types of TLD like the generic TLD (gTLD) and country code TLD (ccTLD). There are 14 gTLDs and more than 240 ccTLDs. So what are these gTLDs and what do they stand for?

• .aero - reserved for the members of the air transport industry
• .biz - restricted to business
• .com - commercial
• .coop - reserved for cooperative associations
• .edu - educational establishments accredited in the US
• .gov - United States government
• .info - information (unrestricted use)
• .int - international organizations established by a treaty between governments
• .mil - United States military
• .museum - reserved for museums
• .name - reserved for individuals (either nick, or real name)
• .net - network
• .org - intended for non-profit organizations
• .pro - reserved for credentialed professionals

As much as these gTLDs are for those intended users, some of these can be registered without restrictions, like the .com, .org, and .net. The same is true for the ccTLDs. Some ccTLDs require that one should reside in the specified country before he will be able to register that domain. Although .gov, .mil, and .edu are reserved for United States institutions, others can register it by having a second level ccTLD.

4 comments June 5th, 2005

Writing Good Website Content

Now that you’ve designed your website, what should you put in it?

To provide a reliable and interesting web content is one of the issues website content writers face.

Here are a few tips from Jeniffer Kyrnin of About.com:

1. Write relevant content. It may be tempting to write about your brother’s dog, but if it doesn’t relate to your site or page topic, leave it out. Web readers want information, and unless the page is information about said dog, they really won’t care, even if it is a good metaphor for what you’re trying to say.
2. Put conclusions at the beginning. Think of an inverted pyramid when you write. Get to the point in the first paragraph, then expand upon it.
3. Write only one idea per paragraph. Web pages need to be concise and to-the-point. People don’t read Web pages, they scan them, so having short, meaty paragraphs is better than long rambling ones.
4. Use action words. Tell your readers what to do. Avoid the passive voice. Keep the flow of your pages moving.
5. Use lists instead of paragraphs. Lists are easier to scan than paragraphs, especially if you keep them short.
6. Limit list items to 7 words. Studies have shown that people can only reliably remember 7-10 things at a time. By keeping your list items short, it helps your readers remember them.
7. Write short sentences. Sentences should be as concise as you can make them. Use only the words you need to get the essential information across.
8. Include internal sub-headings. Sub-headings make the text more scannable. Your readers will move to the section of the document that is most useful for them, and internal cues make it easier for them to do this.
9. Make your links part of the copy. Links are another way Web readers scan pages. They stand out from normal text, and provide more cues as to what the page is about.
10. Proofread your work. Make sure you check your content for misplaced quotation marks or wrong spelling and of course, grammatical errors. Any obvious mistakes turn off readers. So you should never, ever forget to proofread any material you will be publishing online.

Good Luck and happy content writing!

Add comment June 3rd, 2005

SEO Secrets

Adrian Hanft of “Be a Design Group” writes writes about 5 tips on good Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

1. Don’t Fake Your Content.
The best way to gain recognition from search engines is to create unique and valuable content. Google can only be fooled so much by spam, fake links, and artificial inflation trickery. If you want the prize, you have to deliver the goods. That means you need to fill the site with relevant and valuable information. You need to corner the market on what you know best. Don’t ever let your client think that spam is a good way to generate business.

2. Avoid Flash
I love Flash and it hurts me to say this, but when it comes to content, Flash just can’t compete with HTML. Information in Flash is invisible to search engines. The information that search engines can see in Flash doesn’t benefit from the structure of an HTML document. Don’t abandon Flash completely, just make sure you have an HTML version of your sites that is packed with content. If your site is Flash only, you will have a hard time avoiding invisibility to the search engines. I think Flash is getting better at content management, so I will default to the experts there. You really have to know what you are doing to effectively use flash.

3. Start a Blog
Most organizations have humans working for them. Humans like to talk. Blogs encourage employees to talk, and talking online builds up a database of content. That’s a scary thought to an organization who is paranoid of leaks of top secret information. Customers don’t like comanies that keep secrets from them. A blog at least gives the impression that you are a customer friendly organization. You should be able to convince them that the risk is worth the reward when the following is considered: Blogs are a great way to increase customer service. In the event of a company mistake, it is great for damage control. It gives an otherwise faceless company a voice in the marketplace. The benefit to search engines is that you are building a library of relevant keywords, and hundreds maybe thousands of pages of industry specific content.

4. Search Engine Optimization Isn’t Magic
Don’t fall for the myth that there is a secret to search engines, and the only way to get good search results is too buy your way to the top of the search results. There is no substitute for quality content. You can pay for links and click-throughs, but wouldn’t it be easier to have quality content on your site? Don’t waste your money. Work hard on your site’s content, and search engines will notice. If you build it, they will come.

5. Link Management
I would stop short of recommending that you pay for links, but it is undeniable that having links to your site on other people’s sites is extremely valuable to search rank. This is where having original and valuable content really pays off. Just as search engines love good content, so do other sites. They will link to your site on their own. If you have a blog, you will start to build a good relationship with other blogs, and links will happen naturally. There are other sites that will give you links for free, but make that secondary to creating great content.

Add comment June 2nd, 2005

Tips for getting good customer support.

Got this link from Markku about “getting good customer support“.

I would also like to add the ff.:

• Your hosting provider spent a lot of time, effort and money investing in a Support System to streamline their services and shorten resolution time. It was put in place for a good pupose. Familiarize how it works and make good use of it.
• Troubleshooting an issue involves replicating the error or problem. So, give as many information as possible like your OS, connection type, ISP, etc.
• The Control Panel is your best friend. Most of what you need to know are there as well as the tools to help you fix the issue before hitting the support button.
• There is such a thing as the F.A.Q., Knowledgebase and Forum. A lot of the basic questions are already answered there. Just use the search feature to find where it’s at.

Add comment June 2nd, 2005