Ask HN: get*.com and *app.com domain names | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: get.com and app.com domain names

9 pointsantileet13 comments

I am building "productx", which is a nice and suitable name for the product. Unfortunately, productx.com isn't available. But getproductx.com is available.

While I am used to these kind of domains, my target audience isn't. Will opting for getproductx.com hurt in the long run?

View on HN

From a personal perspective, I'd say choose productxapp.com, if it is an app, over getproductx.com. (Or choose a domain hack, like produc.tx, if that would be possible/available?) But you always should keep in mind and accept the fact that some of your target audience and visitors will end up at productx.com anyway.

I agree - productxapp.com is probably best second choice after productx.com for an app name/domain combo, especially consumer apps. And make _sure_ that an existing productx.com service and domain are so different from yours in focus, there is no confusion for consumers who type productx.com by mistake, they know to keep looking for you. Also check US trademark and existing apps to make sure you can trademark it, else if you are successful you may find folks trying to clone variations of your name, or worse claiming your app name on different (android / windows mobile /...) app store if you just start with Apple, for example.

Problem with Xapp.com or getX.com is that once you gain traction (and possibly funding), at some point you'll be buying the original domain for a lot of money (since the owner knows about your startup). I'd recommend to look for another name with an available .com domain.

That's a rich person's problem, along the same lines as "You might get a headache from all the expensive tequila you sip as you relax on the beach with millions of dollars in the bank." I'm not sure it's actually profitable to worry about this even in the long run, and certainly not before you even launch. As long as "getX.com" works for marketing purposes, it's better than choosing something weird and unpronounceable.

Is productx.com a parked name or will you be infringing on someone's copyright/trademark? If it is the former and you think you have a home run, buy the domain. If it is the latter you need a new name.

At some point, if you're successful you're going to have to buy them out. I believe mobify started with mobify.me (hey another option!) and then later bought mobify.com after gaining traction.

I personally went with productapp.com, since getproduct.com sounded a bit generic, while productapp.com implied that its a software app in some form.

dropbox started with getdropbox.com and it didn't seem to do them any harm.

Their customers were techies though so I take your point about lay people not being 'used' to them. It's really a pretty arbitrary decision though, 'google' means nothing to their customers intrinsically. Build a brand and the name is unimportant.

Except that Dropbox needed to spend _a lot_ of money to get the .com domain.

and they acquired that money while they had getdropbox.com. If get was a bad thing, it certainly didn't seem to hurt dropbox is what I'm saying.

So the point is, get it before getting famous, otherwise your fame will drive the price northward.

It's much easier to change a domain name than a product name.

Did you try to make an offer for productx.com first? The fact that a given domain name is taken shouldn't immediately preclude you from obtaining it. If you were to contact the current owner and pitch a deal, you might be surprised by how flexible they are in working something out.

I say this as someone who has direct experience in these matters.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com