Changing domains later is possible, but it's never free: it means redirects, a real risk of losing some of the ranking you'd built up, updating business cards, signage, invoices and anywhere your previous website is already listed. So even though it can feel like a minor decision compared to design or content, the domain deserves more thought than it usually gets.
Related to your brand, not a replacement for it
Ideally the domain matches your brand name or comes very close to it, avoiding additions that make it harder to remember by heart (hyphens, numbers replacing letters, abbreviations that only make sense to you). If your exact brand domain is already taken, it's usually better to add a clear word related to your industry or city than to force an odd variant of the original name.
The extension (.com, .co.uk, .online…) does matter, but less than people think
For a business operating only in one country, a country-code extension is a solid choice and no longer carries any ranking penalty compared to .com. What's worth avoiding are very obscure extensions that raise doubts about whether the link can be trusted, especially if your audience isn't familiar with them. If you can afford it, also registering the .com variant of your main domain (even if you only redirect it to the version you actually use) stops someone else from registering it to impersonate you or confuse your customers.
Short, easy to say out loud, easy to type
A good filter is to imagine having to read the domain out to someone over the phone: if you have to spell out every word or explain "with a hyphen, without a hyphen", that's a sign you could be losing customers along the way, especially in offline advertising (car decals, local radio, business cards) where there's no link to click, just memory.
Avoid forcing keywords in just for SEO
Years ago it was common to stuff the main keyword straight into the domain (something like cheapshoeslondon.com) thinking it helped rankings. Today that effect is minimal, and in exchange it usually sounds unprofessional and limits brand growth if you ever expand into other products or cities. A brand domain is the better choice, letting the site's content (titles, copy, structure) do the keyword work instead.
Frequently asked questions
How many years should I register the domain for upfront?
There's no magic number, but registering for several years at once (instead of renewing every twelve months) reduces the risk of losing it to a missed payment or an expired card on file, which happens more often than you'd think.
Can I use the same domain for several languages on my site?
Yes, that's the standard approach: one domain with language subfolders (yourdomain.com/es/) is usually easier to manage and rank than separate domains per country, unless your business has separate legal entities in each market.
What do I do if the domain I want is registered but unused?
You can try contacting its owner through the registrar to explore a purchase, though the price can spike if they sense you specifically want it. If that's not viable, a clear brand variant almost always works better than forcing the original domain with hard-to-remember tricks.