When you start up your new blog, one of the first things you should do is decide on a name. Your name is your brand. You’ll want to settle on a name as soon as possible so you can market your site most effectively.
However, the blog’s title and the name of its domain are not the same thing, and this is often a major source of confusion to new blog owners. Here are some of the ways in which the two things differ.
What is a Blog Title?
A blog title is exactly what it says on the tin. It’s the title that you use for your blog – e.g. My Cooking Blog or My Travel Blog. Your brand may evolve over time and you might want to change your title. This is easy to do, as you can change the blog’s title through your website’s settings.
What is a Domain Name?
Simply put, this is the blog’s URL. A URL is a permanent web address. Much like addresses for physical places, URLs cannot be changed easily. All your blog’s content will be associated with its URL. Changing the URL will cause all previous links to your blog to lead to broken pages.
If you don’t already have a blog, register the name you want to write under (be it your real name, a pseudonym or a business name) as your domain’s name. If you’re a serious blogger, you’ll want to pay to register the name of your domain. Companies like https://www.names.co.uk/domain-names can help make this process very straightforward so you have one less thing to worry about.
The first thing you should do is check whether the domain in question has already been registered by another user. If the name or any similar forms (such as hyphenated versions) have already been registered, it’s advisable for you to pick a different name for your site. This will help avoid any potential confusion for site visitors. Having a unique yet memorable name will help maximise the number of hits your site gets, generating business for you.
If the domain you wish to use is available and no similar versions are in use, it’s advisable to register the version you intend to use and any similar forms. This will help to protect your blog from cybersquatting and from any potential copyright issues.