Purchase your own domain name. If you don’t have a business name and operate as an independent professional like real estate agents use your name as your domain name.
This advice is helpful even for people that use free services to start a webpage, social networking profile or blog. URL’s like www.myspace.com/ mycompanyname aren’t professional or memorable. Make it easy for customers to find you online simple by knowing your name or business name. Credibility and professionalism are key for independent professionals and small businesses. You can use your domain name administration portal to point your domain name at the free website or sites that give you a subdomain. For example, when I used Squarespace to build and host my site using an online CMS, instead of using their www.squarespace.com/urbanbeautyonline URL; I pointed my domain name to the DNS thereby giving my visitors the luxury of only having to remember urbanbeautyonline.com and not having to remember Squarespace as well.
Free email addresses are easy to obtain but do nothing to help people remember your business name. If your web hosting or domain registrar offers an email account as well use it. Avoid email addresses like the one I saw for an up and coming chef featured in a major publication that stated she could be contacted at a babygirl****@email.com (this is a fictitious email address). Take every opportunity for potential clients to remember who you are through the use of deliberate and consistent branding.
