Choosing your store name and domain

Your store name and your domain are one decision, so this guide covers both together. In most cases you will not have to make it.

You may not need to choose at all

Instant Stores arrive with a brandable name already chosen and a matching free web address attached. AI Builder on Full Auto does the same: you give it the niche, it names the store and takes the address. Semi-Auto puts a Suggest button next to both fields, so you can generate ideas until one lands and overrule any suggestion you do not like.

If none of the suggestions fit, the rest of this guide is what the AI is doing on your behalf, so you can do it by hand.

You do not need keywords in either

Keywords in a domain gave an advantage in Google years ago. They do not now, and they have not for a long time. Domainers bought up every keyword-rich domain and left them sitting unused, and Google stopped rewarding them.

So a store in the baby products niche is better called "Lullaby Lane" at lullabylanestore.com than "Baby Nappies Store" at baby-nappies-store.com. The second one has the keywords and looks like nobody is home.

Choose a name that is short, clear and brandable. Brandable means it is distinctive, it sounds like a shop, and it will look good in a logo.

Finding a name yourself

Any AI chat tool will get the ideas flowing. Ask something simple:

Write five eCommerce store names for a store selling sports nutrition products.

That prompt returned Fuel Up Sports Nutrition, Athletic Peak Hub, Endurance Central, Muscle Pro Depot and Vitality Boost Base. "Fuel Up" is short and catchy, and a domain like fuelup.store is probably free.

If nothing lands, keep prompting. Ask for more like the one you almost liked, ask for a different style ("more professional"), or aim it at an audience ("for young adults").

A free vanity domain, or your own

Every FreshStore account includes free vanity domains, so your store can live on an address like coffeemachineworld.secureonline.store at no cost. That is the right choice while you are trying a niche out: if it does not work, you have spent nothing, and moving the store to a custom domain later takes a few clicks.

A custom domain starts at around ten dollars a year and buys you two things: more trust from your visitors, and more appeal to a buyer if you ever sell the store. You can search for one and register it inside your account.

🔗 Search for a domain

Picking a top level domain

The top level domain is the end part of the address: .com, country specific ones like .co.uk or .de, and plenty of newer ones. Google does not penalise your store for using a less common one, so pick whatever suits the name: funko.rocks, fuelup.health and proteinpowder.store all read well.

Two to be careful with are .biz and .info, which carry a poor reputation after years of abuse.

What a bad domain looks like

Avoid long names, hyphens, deliberate misspellings and keyword stuffing. Never use someone else's trademark (Amazon, Apple, Meta and so on), because those domains get taken off you quickly.

• best-cheapest-drink-fridges.com
• orgaanicmakeup.com
• amazonsuperstore.com

If you cannot find a domain you like, the problem is usually the name. Hit Suggest a few more times, then take the address that matches.