7 Signs It Might Be Time to Change Your Domain Name

Changing domain names isn’t easy, and it’s not a decision that should be taken lightly. But there are times when it makes sense to go through the hassle of changing your website address and reprinting business cards.
Here are seven reasons you might want to bite the bullet and make the change.

1. People can’t spell your domain

Your funny spelling and missing vowels seemed like a good idea at the time. But now you’re getting tired of spelling your domain name letter-by-letter a million times when talking on the phone. It’s also hard for people to remember.

2. People can’t pronounce your domain name

While many hard-to-spell domains are usually hard to pronounce, there are some they are easy to spell but hard to pronounce. Consider SumoMe.com, the name of an internet marketing service. People could spell the name when they heard it aloud. But when people read it, they came up with some really funny pronunciations. That’s one of the reasons Sumo founder Noah Kagan decided to spend $1.5 million to buy Sumo.com.

3. You discover it’s a ‘slurl’

Does your domain name mean something different when you change the capitalization? Since the words in domain names run together rather than have spaces between words, your domain might look very different than what you expect. Some of these are NSFW, but there’s an entire book dedicated to these so-called slurls.

4. Your email is ending up at another company.

Do your customers tell you they sent an email but you didn’t receive it? It’s possible that there’s a technical issue but it could also be because they sent it to a different domain name by mistake. The part to the right of the @ symbol is your domain name. If it’s hard to spell (see #1), people might send messages mean to you to a different company instead. While the mistake is theirs, the problem is yours. It can mean lost sales and lost goodwill.

5. You’ve expanded beyond your original mission

Imagine if Amazon.com had gone with a domain name with the word books in it. That would have made since when all it sold was books. It would be awkward in 2017. You went to somethingbooks.com to buy a banana slicer?

6. Another company is being confused with yours

Being confused with another company online can be a big headache. Just ask UberOps. Even if you existed before that other company, it might make sense to change your domain rather than deal with the annoyance.

7. Your domain is too long

Is your domain 25 characters long? If so, I bet you’re tired of typing it into online forms when you buy things online or sign up for services. You can bet your customers are tired of typing it, too.
Have a problematic domain name or just want a change of pace? You’re in luck! You can search for your next domain at Namecheap.