Ask HN: What are good ways to come up with a domain name? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What are good ways to come up with a domain name?

1 pointjamesbritt6 comments

I've some ideas for Web apps. I'd love a pithy domain that immediately evokes the perfect image of what the app is for. However, picking a domain name composed of common descriptive words almost always gives me something that's already taken or a little too clunky.

How do you conjure up a good domain name? What are some good heuristics? I've a yak-shaving idea of writing a script to generate names from words, phonemes, and synonyms, but I bet there's a more methodical way to do this.

Likewise if you go the nonsense syllable route; are there any guidelines for inventing something striking yet not too puzzling?

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Think of words you want, check every combination you think of, grab any that aren't registered, select from that list.

It took me months to come up with Playtomic after I decided to ditch the old name "SWFStats" because it was such a married-to-Flash name.

The other thing to keep in mind, it really doesn't matter what you do decide to call it, people are going to like or not what you're doing and in either case the name isn't going to be the reason.

The other thing to keep in mind, it really doesn't matter what you do decide to call it, people are going to like or not what you're doing and in either case the name isn't going to be the reason.

No and yes. Long term it will be the value of a site that keeps people coming back. Short term, if a name is confusing or, maybe worse, strongly suggests something that the site isn't, you'll attract the wrong people.

This is why if I can't get clear, descriptive name I'd prefer a completely made-up word.

I find this site useful: http://www.nxdom.com

I think it was done by a fellow HN'er, if I'm not mistaken. Helped me find my latest: http://pixlshare.com

Thanks for the link.

Glad you fund a name you like, but I'm looking to avoid anything I have to explain or spell. When you talk to people about your site, how often do you have to point out that there's no 'e' in 'pixl'?

I almost always wait until I get a working prototype. Otherwise I end up with a domain name that has no connection with the purpose of the app. An alternative would be to reverse regular words to see if something interesting comes up.

Regards

I almost always wait until I get a working prototype.

I'm looking to avoid writing much, if any, code until I know if there's even a viable market. I'm thinking of an MVP site that initially would help me measure interest. So, in a way, the name would signal prospective features.

OTOH there's value in first figuring out what paying customer would actually want and then crafting a name around that. Which sort of argues for an abstract name (e.g. "Loptrz") , at least to start with, since the feature set isn't defined.

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