Finding the right domain for your business

Your domain is your address on the web. It will later be on your vehicle, business card and invoices. Changing it is work, so it is worth thinking it through once properly.

.de or .com?

For a business that works in Germany, .de is the obvious choice. The extension is managed by DENIC eG in Frankfurt am Main and is one of the largest country extensions in the world (source: denic.de). Customers in Germany expect it and type it out of habit. You can also secure a .com address and redirect it to the .de, but a local business does not need to.

Regional extensions like .bayern exist too. They are less well known, and many people still type .de.

Short, clear, easy to say

• Use your business name the way customers pronounce it. maler-schmidt.de is better than an abbreviation nobody knows.
• The shorter, the better, as long as it stays clear.
• Do the phone test: you say the address once on the phone, and the other person can type it without asking.
• If your name is taken, adding the town often helps: schmidt-maler-ansbach.de.

Umlauts and hyphens

Domains with umlauts such as ä, ö and ü have been possible for .de since 2004 (source: denic.de). Still, many people type ae instead of ä, and some email programs handle umlaut addresses poorly. If your name has an umlaut, secure both versions and use the one without umlaut as your main address.

Hyphens are allowed and make long names easier to read. There should not be more than one, otherwise the address becomes tedious on the phone.

Check trademark law

Before you register, quickly check whether the name is a protected trademark. You can do that for free in the DPMAregister of the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (register.dpma.de). A domain that infringes someone else's trademark can lead to a cease and desist demand and costs. This is not legal advice.

The domain must belong to you

Make sure you yourself are registered as the owner, not the agency or web designer. Otherwise you depend on someone else if you want to switch. To move to another provider you need the so-called AuthInfo code. A reputable service provider gives it to you without discussion.

What a domain costs

A .de domain costs about 10 to 20 euros per year with most providers. Cheap first-year offers are common, so look at the price from the second year on.

Frequently asked questions

Should I also register typo domains?

For a small business, usually not. It only makes sense for names that are very often misspelled.

Can I change the domain later?

Yes, with a permanent redirect (301) from the old to the new address. Visitors and Google then automatically end up in the right place. You should keep the old domain for a few years, though.