# How long is too long for a domain name? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 8, 2011, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-too-long-for-a-domain-name/588309 "2011-07-08T14:04:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-too-long-for-a-domain-name/588309/21 "2011-07-09T12:04:26Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > And don’t forget you can get a .biz, .us (or other country code), .info, etc, domain name. You don’t have to stick with .com. Don’t do it! A company that we used to do business with had a .biz domain. Absolutely none of our users could ever get the URL right. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-too-long-for-a-domain-name/588309/22 "2011-07-09T13:18:20Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > Don’t do it! A company that we used to do business with had a .biz domain. Absolutely none of our users could ever get the URL right. 😕 Why is typing “.biz” any harder than typing “.com”? Most people I know manage to deal with websites ending in .com, .gov, .net, .org, .co.uk, .org.uk, .gov.uk, .info and so on on a fairly regular basis. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-too-long-for-a-domain-name/588309/23 "2011-07-09T14:47:50Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > 😕 Why is typing “.biz” any harder than typing “.com”? Most people I know manage to deal with websites ending in .com, .gov, .net, .org, .co.uk, .org.uk, .gov.uk, .info and so on on a fairly regular basis. Because .biz domain names make up about 0.00001% of them, and it’s hard to remember exceptions to almost universal rules like “domain names for companies start with www and end with .com” ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2011, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-too-long-for-a-domain-name/588309/24 "2011-07-10T01:08:47Z")
And if a .com version exist, quite a few people will go to that. Heck, [wikipedia.com](http://wikipedia.com) works, as does [firefox.com](http://firefox.com). ---
**Author:** ![HarryTheHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@HarryTheHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HarryTheHat)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-too-long-for-a-domain-name/588309/25 "2016-04-06T01:19:45Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > AwakenYourSensesMassage is easy to remember. It’s a lot of characters, sure, but it’ll stick in people’s minds. Plus Quercus is right; people are going to Google it anyway. AwakenYourSenses would have been better, but what you’ve got isn’t bad, and is better than the acronym. Maybe so, but don’t expect to see AwakenYourSensesMassage published in a newspaper or anywhere else that uses single column type. I just tried. It will look something like: www.AwakenYourSensesMass > **[age.com - VERYL](https://veryl.com/domain/age-com/)** I’m a copy editor and long domain names suck. I’ve just been trying to make this one fit without breaking: [www.portmacbeerandciderfestival.com](http://www.portmacbeerandciderfestival.com). It can’t be done unless I reduce the point size to something ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-too-long-for-a-domain-name/588309/26 "2016-04-06T02:50:15Z")
The longest domain name I’ve ever seen is probably [http://hasthelargehadroncolliderdestroyedtheworldyet.com/](http://hasthelargehadroncolliderdestroyedtheworldyet.com/) ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-too-long-for-a-domain-name/588309/27 "2016-04-06T04:23:29Z")
> [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](#): > > I vote for awakenyoursensesmassage But use capital letters! “awakenyoursensesmassage” hurts my brain. “AwakenYourSensesMassage” is much easier to read and remember. > [@](#): > > Why is typing “.biz” any harder than typing “.com”? It’s not harder to type. But it is much harder to remember. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-too-long-for-a-domain-name/588309/28 "2016-04-06T05:00:36Z")
The future TLD .spa is accepting preorders, or so I gather from 2 seconds of Googling. You might want to look a little deeper into it before handing over money. AwakenYourSenses.spa would be cool. Lock down ays.spa and awaken.spa while you’re at it. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-too-long-for-a-domain-name/588309/29 "2016-04-06T05:49:43Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > It’s not harder to type. > But it is much harder to remember. And some of the people who do remember it will be consciously or subconsciously turned off by the low-rent domain. ---
**Author:** ![Jake\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Jake\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake_Jones)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-too-long-for-a-domain-name/588309/30 "2016-04-06T06:01:21Z")
Too bad I’m 57 months late. How’s business? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-too-long-for-a-domain-name/588309/31 "2016-04-06T13:42:27Z")
Wow. This is one … unexpected … zombie revival. Just wow. I keep telling myself: Don’t want to know what the logic of reviving this thread is. Don’t want to know. Don’t want to know. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-too-long-for-a-domain-name/588309/32 "2016-04-06T13:52:19Z")
> [@Jake\_Jones](#): > > Too bad I’m 57 months late. How’s business? Looks like they went with [awakenyoursensesspa.com](http://awakenyoursensesspa.com), as [awakenyoursensesmassage.com](http://awakenyoursensesmassage.com) doesn’t work. ---
**Author:** ![Carryon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Carryon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carryon)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-too-long-for-a-domain-name/588309/33 "2016-04-06T21:37:57Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > 😕 Why is typing “.biz” any harder than typing “.com”? Most people I know manage to deal with websites ending in .com, .gov, .net, .org, .co.uk, .org.uk, .gov.uk, .info and so on on a fairly regular basis. Biz has an especially bad reputation for malware, spam and cons. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-too-long-for-a-domain-name/588309/34 "2016-04-07T02:13:42Z")
> [@Carryon](#): > > Biz has an especially bad reputation for malware, spam and cons. I agree. If a domain ends in .biz, that negatively impacts their credibility, IMO. I don’t think “reputable and professional business”, I think “MLM schemes and spam”. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-too-long-for-a-domain-name/588309/35 "2016-04-07T06:09:50Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > About 90% of the web pages I go to are either bookmarked, or I get to them with a search. Needless to say, Google made a huge impact on how people find things on the 'Net. I recall reading that Google was surprised and inspired to discover that most users who want to go to [CNN.com](http://CNN.com) — the very model of easy-to-remember URL — get there by typing “cnn” into Google’s search bar. ---
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-too-long-for-a-domain-name/588309/36 "2016-04-08T03:30:11Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > I recall reading that Google was surprised and inspired to discover that most users who want to go to [CNN.com](http://CNN.com) — the very model of easy-to-remember URL — get there by typing “cnn” into Google’s search bar. I’d think that depends on the browser too. I have Chrome set up to auto fill with .com for the address bar typing first before going to a search. SeaMonkey and FireFox just dump it to a search engine. I don’t use other browsers to see how they handle it. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-too-long-for-a-domain-name/588309/37 "2016-04-08T03:47:33Z")
you could do a varient - is “[yoursenses.com](http://yoursenses.com)” available? if so - then have the host be ‘awaken’ [awaken.yoursenses.com](http://awaken.yoursenses.com)’ easy peasy. ---
**Author:** ![TwoCarrotSnowman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twocarrotsnowman/32/15879_2.png) [@TwoCarrotSnowman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoCarrotSnowman)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-too-long-for-a-domain-name/588309/38 "2016-04-08T09:36:11Z")
One approach I’ve seen is to have a domain name which isn’t actually the name of the business, but is more general. So “Bob’s Used Cars” might have the domain name [cheapcars.com](http://cheapcars.com). The site itself has all the branding of the business clearly stated, it’s just the actual domain name which is generic. This has the advantage that potential customers searching for your type of business, but not your business in particular, may find you first. It also tends to result in easy to remember domain names, and if you pick the right one, can even act as a form of subliminal messaging in the way the name of business itself may not. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-too-long-for-a-domain-name/588309/39 "2016-04-08T14:30:59Z")
Many of you have failed to notice this a nearly 5 year old ZOMBIE thread. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-too-long-for-a-domain-name/588309.md?page=1)