UK businesses rush their choice of web address

Nearly half of small businesses devote as much time to choosing their web address as they do to picking a coffee maker, according to a recent survey.

Research by web hosting provider, Fasthosts Internet, shows that 41 per cent of UK's small firms invest under an hour of thought in the decision. The survey of 615 British businesses revealed that the average business spends only between six and 12 hours choosing their main domain name.

Some 61 per cent of business owners sought no second opinion before making a selection and over half (52 per cent) did not consider options such as .biz, .net or .eu at all.

Most recognised that their domain name could have a lasting effect on their business, with one third of businesses believing that their revenue would improve as a direct result of having a better web address, and one in four businesses admitting they had 'concerns' about the effectiveness of their web address.

But one in four of these businesses (24 per cent) said they were unwilling to attempt a change in domain name because they believed it would involve a lot of work.

Mark Jeffries, CTO Fasthosts Internet Ltd, said: "Businesses should consider all available options before purchasing their primary domain name. It's often the case today that the best available domains belong to less obvious suffixes, and it is always advisable to seek external opinion on what a domain could suggest about your business".

Web presence

Whilst most UK small businesses now recognise the benefits of having a website, the research would suggest few are optimising their web presence. Some five per cent of business owners surveyed admit to having themselves forgotten their own domain name.

Mr Jeffries said: "A web address is often bought in haste at the start of a business project. Every UK business must recognise the lasting impact that a domain name can have on sales and image, and business owners shouldn't delay making necessary changes".