Choosing a domain name for your trade business

A domain name is the address of your website: the part after "www" that you will say on the phone, paint on the van and print on every invoice. Get it right and nobody thinks about it again. Get it wrong and you are spelling it out for years, or paying to change it later. This guide explains how to choose a domain name for a plumbing, electrical, building or any other trade business in the UK, what to avoid, what to do if you already own one, and how the free .co.uk domain works with a Tradesmen's Websites subscription.

.co.uk, .com or .uk?

For a UK trade business, .co.uk is what customers expect and type without thinking. It signals a British business, it is cheap, and it is the safest default. .com is fine if you can get it, and worth registering alongside .co.uk to stop someone else using it, but it is not necessary. The shorter .uk ending exists but many customers still add "co" from habit, which sends them somewhere else. Avoid endings such as .biz, .online, .site or .services; they look temporary and are harder to say on the phone.

Business name or keywords?

Twenty years ago a domain like "prestonplumbers.co.uk" gave a real advantage on Google. It no longer does much, and it has costs: it limits you to Preston, it is hard to own as a brand, and it looks like everyone else. Use your business name. If the name is very generic ("Smith") add the trade: smithelectrical.co.uk or smithsplumbing.co.uk. The trade word helps customers remember what you do; the town does not need to be in the domain, because your website will have a page for every town you cover anyway.

Short, sayable and easy to spell

The test is a phone call. Say the address out loud to someone who has never heard it. If they ask "is that with a hyphen?" or "one S or two?", change it. Practical rules:

• Under about fifteen characters before the ending, if you can.
• No double letters where two words meet: "sandsservices" is a mess.
• No words that can be spelt two ways. "Colour" and "color", "grey" and "gray".
• No ampersands. "&" cannot be in a domain, so "A&B Roofing" becomes "aandbroofing" or "abroofing". Decide which and use it everywhere.
• Read it as one word and check it does not spell something unfortunate.

Things to avoid

• Hyphens. Nobody remembers them and nobody says them. "north-west-plumbing.co.uk" loses customers to whoever owns the version without hyphens.
• Numbers, unless they are genuinely part of your name. "4" or "for"? "2" or "to"?
• Other people's trademarks. Boiler brands, paint brands and scheme names in your domain invite a letter from their solicitors.
• A town you might leave. If you move or expand, the domain becomes wrong.
• "Ltd" or "Limited". It adds length and nothing else.
• Jokes and puns that are funny once and awkward on an invoice forever.
• Anything close to a competitor's. Confusion helps them, not you.

Checking availability, Companies House and trademarks

Before you settle on a name, check four things:

1. The domain is available in .co.uk (any registrar's search will tell you).
2. Companies House does not list a company with the same or a confusingly similar name, especially if you plan to incorporate.
3. The UK trade mark register at the Intellectual Property Office does not show a registered mark for the name in your trade.
4. Social media handles are free, or close enough, so your Facebook and Instagram match the website.

Ten minutes here saves a rebrand later.

Already own a domain?

Keep it. A domain that has been live for years is worth more to Google than a new one, and customers already know it. It can be pointed at a new website without changing anything customers see. Make sure you know where it is registered, that the renewal is set to automatic with a card that will not expire, and that you (not a former web designer) have the login. Domains that lapse are bought by strangers within days, and getting them back is expensive or impossible.

The free .co.uk domain with a subscription

If you do not have a domain, Tradesmen's Websites supplies a suitable available .co.uk domain free of charge while your subscription remains active. We will suggest options based on your business name and agree the final choice with you; availability of any particular name cannot be guaranteed, because someone may already own it. If you already own a domain, we connect that instead. How a supplied domain is handled if you later cancel is set out in our terms and conditions.

Email on your own domain

An address such as "info" at your own domain looks more established than a Gmail or Hotmail address, and it stays with you if you ever change website provider. Once you have a domain, set up at least one mailbox on it and use it on the van, the invoices and your quotes. Many customers judge a business by its email address before they have read a word of the quote.

Frequently asked questions

Next step

Once you have a name in mind, or a domain you already own, enter your services and areas and see a preview of your own website before paying anything. £59 for your first month, £0 setup fee, no long-term contract. Our website checklist covers what should go on the site itself.