Our Domain Partner Namesco relaunch as names.co.uk

Namesco are now names.co.uk! To highlight the importance of the domain name services that they provide and to stress their UK heritage, the company formerly known as Namesco have ushered in 2013 with a rebrand that also sees updates to their logo, website and product offerings.

On top of all this, names.co.uk also commissioned special “rebrand” research that has some interesting findings. They discovered that 63% of business owners register a domain more than 3 months after forming with Companies House, by which time 1 in 5 people have lost out on the domain name that they want. A concerning amount when you consider the necessity for the company name and domain name to align.

Naturally, before being able to ensure availability, the first step is coming up with that perfect name. The following should all be considered when naming a company:

The target market

These are very different for each business – from a plumber to a solicitor. Consumers have different expectations for an online retailer than a high street store. What type of customer is the company trying to attract? The name should reflect this.

Start with the right letter

For a company name to sound harder and more business-like it’s better to use harder consonants at the start of the name: especially R, M, L, F, G, C, N. If a business wants to be seen as ‘lighter’ and more consumer focused, vowels such A, E, I, O, U make more sense.

Does the name reflect what the company does?

Some of the best company names are connected to what that company actually does. Amazon, as a major distributor of paperbacks, worked well, at least with their original business model. Coca-Cola describes the exact elements in their product and most people would assume that Match.com is a dating service, without having seen any advertising around the company. Of course there are example such as Apple and Orange where the name has nothing to do with the product.

The owner’s name

While it is less fashionable these days to name a company after the founder, this still works well for some businesses, especially those that follow strong personal leadership like Dyson, Disney and Ogilvy. The warning is that if the business ever sells, or the founder dies, these businesses can be perceived as losing their direction and worth. Even Disney pictures struggled at the box office for a decade after Walt Disney’s death.

Keep it short and simple

It is definitely a 21st century phenomena for names to be short and sweet. With the rise in importance of having a short email address, it is no wonder that companies spend huge amounts of money rebranding themselves with shorter names. Norwich Union is now Aviva, National Westminster Bank is Natwest and even Facebook has registered www.fb.com to make life easier.

Thanks to our relationship with names.co.uk, we’re able to offer a free .co.uk domain name (which comes with a free personalised email address and a discount on web hosting or the easy website builder) to anyone who forms a UK Limited Company with us. See here for more information:

Free Domain Name Registration