Hi, everyone! I keep reading how much better it is to have a .com rather than something else. My domain name is currently perfect-word.net. I e-mailed my domain/e-mail/hosting place and asked if I bought a new domain name ($9.99 a year), would I have to redo my entire website. They replied and gave me instructions on how to do it, which I don't 100% understand on a first read-through, but it seems possible. They said once the switch takes effect, the website might have problems if I don't change any links associated with it to the new domain name. So it sounds like as long as that's done, there "shouldn't" be a problem.

The only .com that seems available with my company name in it (which I think is important) is perfectwordtranscripts.com (or theperfecwordtranscripts, with is way too long). Do you think it's worth all the trouble of changing it to a .com? If so, would you change the e-mail address to that as well, or would that be okay to keep as-is? I like the shortness of my current one; this .com one seems so long.

Thank you!

Edit: Or I could go with something like tpwtranscripts.com or tpwtranscription.com (The TPW obviously standing for The Perfect Word.) ??

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Pam Deyerle - Transcriptionist in the Richmond, Virginia area
The Perfect Word Transcription Services

The .com extension is always better. You can have the .net pointed to the .com until you feel it's safe or forever. It's good to have both anyway. I even purchase domains that are similar for spelling or typo errors.

I have a serious aversion to .net domains and even more so to a business site built on a .org or .info, they just seem like the 'low rent district' to me Silly I know, but it's also a matter of how easy it is for people to find you and most people's brains default to .com when trying to recall a web address.

So yes, I think it might be worth it to consider moving your site to a .com but be careful to choose something that makes sense. I'm not sure the last two options you listed with various initials would work well.

And it is very easy to move a small website, assuming it's not a free website builder, in which case you never can be sure. But with the assumption your site is a 'stick built' HTML or blog site, just download ALL of your files before you do anything else - make sure you have all the bits and pieces. Do change your links so that it all works on the new URL and then upload all of your files to the new account. You can then forward the old one until you feel you no longer need it [you might have clients or old contacts still trying to locate you through the old site so definitely forward for a few months at least.

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Thanks for your suggestions! Our yellow pages just came out and my web address is listed there, so yes, I will need to forward it for a year. (I do get most of my work through referrals and the YP.)

My website is hosted where I get my domain name and associated e-mail accounts. They offer a free one-pager, but you can pay about $40 a year and build your own site however you want. I went that direction. My son built it and I have the program to make changes to html and upload it back to the site (everything except images at this point), but that doesn't mean I know enough to change everything correctly!! I'll go ahead and purchase the domain.com I want and then either over spring break or this summer we can change it to the .com and have the .net point back to it (or as my hosting company says, "resolve back to it"). I'll have to say, the company I use has always had great customer service. I asked them several questions about this since just yesterday afternoon and they answered everything within a few hours telling me how to do this.

Thanks, Tess, on your observations regarding the ones with the initials. I was just trying to keep it short, but I have noticed lots of sites since I started this thread that have fairly long url's. What do you think about perfectwordtranscripts (transcription is taken)? What about hyphens (like I have in mind now)...not so good, okay? perfect-word-transcription is available, but I don't know how confusing the hyphens would be.

I know there's a thread around here somewhere about using or not using your company name as your domain name.

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Pam Deyerle - Transcriptionist in the Richmond, Virginia area
The Perfect Word Transcription Services

I think whenever possible it makes good sense to use the company name as the domain name. I would be careful however about registering a URL so close to another company with the same exact name [Does this concern you?]

Hyphens are actually better for SEO because Google will read them as individual words, rather than one long word - but they are harder for people on the receiving end of your marketing to remember... it's a tough call!

While you're waiting to get the site moved you can always forward the .com to the .net so you can start to make use of it in your other promotional materials, etc.

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I just had the bright idea (slow on the uptake)...perfectword-va.com and perfectwordva.com are both available. "VA" can stand for virtual assistant or my state, Virginia.

What do you think?

Tess, I was typing this as you were posting yours. My name has been out there for 14 years locally, so although other companies have it in other states, I don't want to change it. (There's a Perfect Word Ministries, a Perfect Word translator, etc.)

I could change the whole thing to my last name with "Transcriptions." I can bet you there wouldn't be another one, but then no one ever knows how to pronounce it or spell it!

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Pam Deyerle - Transcriptionist in the Richmond, Virginia area
The Perfect Word Transcription Services

I agree that dot com is always superior to dot net or other extensions. I also suggest get the dot net extension so no one can get a similar domain to yours.

I agree with the .com being the most desirable but I did just read about a new one that is supposed to be available in July, .co. The article mentioned the above discussed aversions to .net, .biz, etc., but also stated the .com is about used up. I think .co would become attractive quickly on it's own, but also I think that is a common misspelling to leave the "m" off of com so I would buy and then direct it to my .com site.

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Kathy Schneider
http://www.virtuality-works.com

Many people purchase both so nobody copycats your domain name.

.com isn't used up. Its just that its the most popular so most people have purchased the domain that someone else may want. Its impossible to "use it up" because cause letters and combinations, are infinite.

The problem with the .co names is that it hasn't caught on yet. Not many people know about it, and it seems like the TLD for another country. Also my aversion to it is that someone would get confused and type in com instead of the .co

.net is ok if you can't do .com. its like a "second level TLD. but biz and all the rest I stay away and tell all my clients to stay away from. Harder to remember and brand ad a primary domain name.

Though Kathy is correct, sometimes we buy them just to keep others from bying similar ones.

I'm so glad to see this thread, it is very timely. I found out yesterday that the domain I thought I had registered for my VA business was not what I thought it was. I thought I had registered customva.com when in reality I registered it as custom-va.com, in the words of Homer Simpson, "D'oh!"

I now remember why I added the dash when I purchased it but for the life of me have had the idea that I actually had the customva.com one. So I did a search and found out that the dot com domain is set to expire in July, did some research and realized I can place a backorder on it in the event it expires. So that's what I did.

I was going to just purchase the dot net version because I'm not convinced that the one I actually do own (with the dash) is the best option and just forget about the backorder for the dot com. But I decided to place a bid on it anyway and see what comes of it in July. I am still purchasing the dot net version as a safeguard.

If for some reason the bid falls through then I will have a decision to make, use the custom-va.com or customva.net. Reading everyone's input regarding both choices I'm not sure which way to go, I'm just praying that the dot com becomes available.

This also sets back my timeframe for a website until August. There's something to be said about procrastination in this situation. I hadn't started working on it as planned, waiting for my spring semester to end, and was planning on getting it done by the end of June. Now, I'm better off waiting to see what happens.

My apologies Pam for hijacking your thread, this topic was right on time for me and I found it very helpful.

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Anita Virtual Assistant Services

Hi Anita,

I just thought I would throw my twopence in here, after working for a company who had a - in its name I found it that nearly every second caller into the company looking for the address or looking for email address would question the -. I would have to say the button above the P on your keyboard. Also people would ring in saying I got no reply to my email I would ask did you include the - and the answer was usually no. So please be careful when doing this also with word of mouth they might say you should go to customva and forget to mention the -.

I would go with the .com and no dashes. People tend to forgot about the dashes. Since you do transcripts, I think it's good to have it in your domain name too.