Choose a domain name shown on screen with myname.com example marked available

2. How to Choose a Domain Name That Actually Works in 2025

ByChad Peterson

Wondering how to choose a domain name? I’ve bought and dropped several domain names over the years. Here’s what matters when picking the right domain.com in 2025.

By now you should have decided on a hosting company. In my article #1 I talked about why I chose WPX hosting. WPX offers domain registration, so I’m in the process of moving my domains there to keep both hosting and domain management under one roof. That way, I don’t have to juggle settings across two companies, and I can rely on WPX’s excellent support if anything goes wrong.

✅ My Experience Owning Several Domain Names (and Dropping Most)

I spent years chasing clever, short, or resale-worthy domain names. I thought they had value. When you see what some people pay for a domain name you want to get into that niche and make some money, but that niche has changed, and the market to make a quick buck with a sharp domain name has dried up in my opinion.

I thought I could flip a few. I thought they’d gain value.

Most were a waste of time and money.

Here’s what I learned that matters more than hype.

✅ Why .COM Still Matters in 2025

Even with all the new extensions, .com is still the gold standard.

  • It’s familiar and trusted
  • Easy to remember
  • Universally accepted by browsers and users
  • Still preferred by Google for authority and branding

✅ Core Rules to Choose a Domain Name

👉 Keep it short and simple

  • Long or complex names are easy to mistype and hard to remember.

Aim for:

  • 2–3 short words max
  • No hyphens or numbers

👉 Make it brandable

Ask yourself if I choose a domain name:

  • Can someone say it out loud and spell it? Some names can be difficult.
  • Does it sound like a business, blog, or serious site?

I began building bychadpeterson.com as soon as I understood the concept of building a personal brand. What did I know the most about. It was me, whom I knew the most about! Where I had failed and where I felt that I had succeeded.

Think for a moment about some of the large sites that people have built around their own name and developed a personal brand. To name a few:

I have another website called homeheatproblems.com, and the result of that domain name is that I became pigeonholed. By selecting a domain with a narrow niche, I became trapped into only being able to write about heating and air conditioning.

The term pigeonholed refers to unfairly placing someone or something into a narrow category that limits how they’re seen. It comes from old desk compartments called pigeonholes, used to sort papers. In modern use, it suggests oversimplifying or misjudging someone’s potential by boxing them in.

I essentially boxed myself into a category or a niche that had a diminishing end.

There were more Chad Petersons than I could imagine, so I chose to use the prefix “by”. There are a lot of modifiers that you could use to get a short .com domain name. Or even a suffix, a modifier at the end of your name.

  • itschadpeterson.com
  • meetchadpeterson.com
  • therealchadpeterson.com
  • officialchadpeterson.com
  • chadpetersonmedia.com
  • chadpetersonwrites.com

Ask ChatGPT for suggestions and get the ball rolling.

👉 Avoid trademarks and exact match clutter

Stay away from:

  • Names that sound like existing brands
  • Over-optimized names like bestfurnacerepair2025.com

Google doesn’t reward keyword stuffing anymore.

✅ Should You Buy a Premium or Expired Domain?

Premium Domain Pros

  • May already have backlinks
  • Can save you time building authority

Premium Domain Cons

  • Expensive
  • Risky (previous spam or penalties)

Check Wayback Machine and backlink history before buying anything pre-owned.

✅ Don’t Buy Just to Flip — Build Something Instead

I’ve been there: buying domains hoping they’d gain value.

Instead:

Choose a name with a purpose and start building.

Use it for:

  • A blog
  • A service business
  • A niche site you care about

✅ What to Do After You Choose a Domain Name

  1. Register the domain at Namecheap, Google Domains, or WPX
  2. Set up hosting (I recommend WPX — here’s why)
  3. Install WordPress
  4. Start publishing (this is the fun part)

Want help? I walk you through it in this WPX setup guide.

✅ Final Tips on How to Choose a Domain Name

  • Sleep on it — don’t rush
  • Ask 1–2 people to say it out loud
  • Try it in a logo or browser bar
  • Trust your gut — if it feels awkward, skip it

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