It’s time to choose your site name and domain name. A domain name is your address on the internet. Ours is itsalovelylife.com
It should be something you like and something that relates to your niche if possible…but it isn’t necessary. In fact, I love my domain name because it can be anything I want it to be, and it resonates with how I view the world. This inspires me to want to write and share on it.
If you are sure that you are going to write only about one subject, then by all means, pick a domain name that is very specific to your niche. So, if I was going to write only about traveling in the Bahamas, then travelinginthebahamas.com would be completely acceptable.
But, if there is any chance you want to add more topics, or you think you’ll be writing about more than just traveling in the Bahamas, it might be best to use a broader URL like Ilovetotraveleverywhere.com. That leaves it open for you to stretch your wings without having to start a whole new blog.
But again, your domain name can later be changed if you need to. It just requires time, energy, and work to do it. I have had three different domains/blog names over the years, and I just have the old ones redirect to the new ones so that my readers can still find me. If I had to start over again, I wish I had started with It’s a Lovely Life! from the start, but as they say, hindsight is 20/20.
It’s also possible to write about more than just travel on your blog. For instance, we also right about lifestyle and digital business. So, our name Itsalovelylife.com works and doesn’t restrict us to certain topics.
If you want to be flexible and write about whatever you want on your site, if the domain name is too restrictive, then you will have issues down the road. Example: You love to make cookies and would like to write about that. You end up choosing the domain CookieBakingMama.com. Later you decide you would like to incorporate some lifestyle and travel writing on the site. You may have a hard time convincing a resort in the Bahamas that you are a travel blogger. A better domain name choice would be something more broad in scope that does not limit you. That could be something like lifeshappymoments.com. If you are certain that you will be writing about one subject, try to include that in the URL for better search traffic.
Keep In Mind:
Stay away from obscene or objectionable words and phrases with questionable meanings. If you have a site name that is even slightly objectionable, then you will be passed over by potential travel partners and potential readers.
I highly recommend that you choose a dot com (.com). These are still the standard. Resist the urge to register a domain like SandalsandSeabreezes.us if SandalsandSeabreezes.com is taken (by the way this dot com is still available as of this writing)! Not only will you be confused with the .com SandalsandSeabreezes, but it will be a constant source of frustration when people go to the wrong site because they assumed you were a dot com.
Here is another idea that works out really well for bloggers: Your Name
This will probably be the easiest one to move forward with...especially if your name is not very common.
If your name is Mary Smith, chances are that someone else already owns that domain name.
You could always use your middle name (Rita in this example) and try variations such as: