How to Choose a Web Address
for Your Restaurant Web Site
Your web address (technically, "domain name") should be some version of your business name. The biggest problem is that if you have a common name ("George's Cafe"), the corresponding web address is probably already taken.
To see if a particular web address is available, go to "godaddy.com" and enter the name you'd like into the white search box in the upper left hand corner, and then click on the green "Go" button.
(Click on the link at the right and a new window will open with your browser, so you can see these instructions and go to Godaddy at the same time: godaddy.com)
Here are the basic rules:
1. Use a ".com" if you can.
There are a large number of suffixes available, including ".com", ".net", ".org", ".co", ".biz", etc. The problem is that most people expect a ".com", and will type that into a browser. If you use a different suffix, customers might find you with Google, but it's usually best avoided.
2. Use a web address people will remember.
A common error is to use, say, "johnscafepa.com" rather than "johnscafepaloalto.com". A customer might remember the latter, or be able to reconstruct it, but is unlikely to remember the first. People aren't good at remembering odd abbreviations, or even remembering that the address has an abbreviation. Being easy to remember is far more important than efficiency in typing.
3. Make it simple.
It's probably better to simplify your business name if the simplified version is what a customer would likely remember. Thus, "andysmountaingrill.com" is a reasonable shortened version of the actual business name, "Andy's Mountain Grill & Deli".
4. Add a Town Name if Necessary.
If a desired name isn't available, add a town name ("georgescafesonora.com"), or even a highway number ("pieinthesky108.com").
5. Avoid Hyphens and Gimmicks.
If "johnsrestaurant.com" isn't available, "johns-restaurant" isn't a good alternative, because people will not remember the hyphen. Gimmicks ("johns4burgers.com") aren't desirable for the same reason. (Web addresses are allowed to contain only alphabetic characters (a-z), numeric digits (0-9), and hyphens. Other characters are not allowed.)
Call us and we'll register your web address as part of the Menu-Based Web Site Service. 209 586-1972. Or if you prefer to register it yourself, go to How to Register a Web Address
(Click on the link at the right and a new window will open with your browser, so you can see these instructions and go to Godaddy at the same time: godaddy.com)
Here are the basic rules:
1. Use a ".com" if you can.
There are a large number of suffixes available, including ".com", ".net", ".org", ".co", ".biz", etc. The problem is that most people expect a ".com", and will type that into a browser. If you use a different suffix, customers might find you with Google, but it's usually best avoided.
2. Use a web address people will remember.
A common error is to use, say, "johnscafepa.com" rather than "johnscafepaloalto.com". A customer might remember the latter, or be able to reconstruct it, but is unlikely to remember the first. People aren't good at remembering odd abbreviations, or even remembering that the address has an abbreviation. Being easy to remember is far more important than efficiency in typing.
3. Make it simple.
It's probably better to simplify your business name if the simplified version is what a customer would likely remember. Thus, "andysmountaingrill.com" is a reasonable shortened version of the actual business name, "Andy's Mountain Grill & Deli".
4. Add a Town Name if Necessary.
If a desired name isn't available, add a town name ("georgescafesonora.com"), or even a highway number ("pieinthesky108.com").
5. Avoid Hyphens and Gimmicks.
If "johnsrestaurant.com" isn't available, "johns-restaurant" isn't a good alternative, because people will not remember the hyphen. Gimmicks ("johns4burgers.com") aren't desirable for the same reason. (Web addresses are allowed to contain only alphabetic characters (a-z), numeric digits (0-9), and hyphens. Other characters are not allowed.)
Call us and we'll register your web address as part of the Menu-Based Web Site Service. 209 586-1972. Or if you prefer to register it yourself, go to How to Register a Web Address