Choosing a domain name is the first permanent decision a project makes, and one of the hardest to undo. This is a working framework — not a list of vibes — for evaluating a candidate name before you commit. It is the same checklist the team at namebox.dev uses internally when ranking AI-generated candidates.

1. Length: shorter is better, with one caveat

Aim for 6–10 characters in the name itself (excluding the TLD). Shorter names are easier to type, easier to say, and visually denser on a business card. The caveat: a short name that is hard to pronounce loses to a longer name that is obvious to say. Stripe at 6 characters beats Xyq at 3, every time.

Hard rules to keep in your head:

No more than 12 characters in the name.
No more than 3 syllables when spoken aloud.
No hyphens unless the brand already uses them.
Avoid numbers unless the brand is numeric (e.g. 7zip).

2. Pronounceability: the "phone test"

Say the name out loud as if you were spelling it to someone over the phone. If you have to clarify — "with two L's", "the letter before K", "no, the other way" — it fails the phone test. A name that fails the phone test costs you word-of-mouth. People will avoid recommending it because they aren't sure they'll say it right.

3. TLD fit: match the TLD to the audience

The TLD is part of the name, not a decoration. The same word reads differently under .dev versus .shop. Read our best TLDs for developers guide for the full comparison; the short version is:

Developer tools → .dev
Apps → .app
Tech startups → .io
General business → .co
CLIs and shell tools → .sh
Web3 / generic → .xyz

4. Spelling risk: the "I-have-to-Google-it test"

If a new visitor hears the name once and cannot reliably spell it, you will lose organic search traffic to whoever owns the misspelled version. Common traps:

Letter doublings (clapper vs claper) — pick the obvious spelling.
Word boundaries (getpost vs get-post) — pick one and own it.
Phonetic traps (knight vs nite) — pick the dictionary spelling unless the brand insists.

5. Trademark safety

Before you commit, search the USPTO TESS database (US) and the WIPO Global Brand Database for any live trademark on the exact name in your project's class. This is a 5-minute check that saves you from a rebrand six months in. If a name is trademarked in a different class, document why you believe your use is non-conflicting — that paper trail matters if you are ever challenged.

For open source projects, also grep the major package registries (npm, PyPI, crates.io, Packagist) for the name. A package with the same name in your ecosystem confuses users and dilutes your brand.

6. Social handles: not blocking, but annoying

Check GitHub, X (Twitter), and at least one developer-friendly platform (Mastodon, Bluesky). You do not need all handles to match — but if yourname is taken on GitHub by an active project with a different focus, you will have a permanent disambiguation tax. It is rarely a deal-breaker; it is worth knowing before you commit.

7. Availability verification: ask the registry, not DNS

This is the step where most "is this free?" tools are quietly wrong. They check whether a DNS record exists for the name — and a domain can be registered without DNS, or parked with no DNS, or registered but not resolving. The only authoritative source is the registry itself.

namebox.dev queries every candidate through RDAP (RFC 7483), the modern successor to WHOIS that returns structured JSON directly from the registry operator. A green "available" badge on a name means the registry has no record for that name at this moment. You can register it immediately at any accredited registrar.

8. Buy the obvious variants

Once you commit to a name, register the obvious variants in the same purchase:

The same name under your second-choice TLD (e.g. yourname.dev + yourname.io).
The most common misspelling if any.
The get-prefixed version if relevant (getyourname.dev).

These should be a $20 line item, not a future rebrand.

Putting it together

Run a name through this 8-step checklist before you buy. If it passes 7 of 8, it is probably good. If it fails on length, pronounceability, or trademark safety, keep looking — those are the failures that compound. For a starting list of candidates verified available via RDAP, run a search on namebox.dev. For more ideas by project type, see domain name ideas.

How to choose a domain name