How to Name Your Online Store

Why is your business name important?

A good business name can help you connect with more customers, increase your brand awareness, and boost sales. Your business name is what customers see first, whether they’re visiting a store in-person or online. Additionally, your name defines your business and helps customers form expectations for what your business does and the types of products or services you sell.

Your name is part of your key marketing messaging, so it must not mislead customers. Your name can also help you stand out from the competition. Consumers tend to shop based on emotions, so if you can find a way to use your name to attract customers and impact how they feel, you can make your business name memorable.

Guidelines for choosing a name for your online store

Choosing a name is both an art and a science. As you think through your choices, these guidelines can help you through the process.

1. Make a list

Brainstorm and write down all the words and phrases that feel relevant to the store or business you’re creating. Be creative, but also keep it simple. Consider words and phrases that fit the brand identity you’re cultivating. Use available tools, like dictionaries, a thesaurus, and online business name generators for ideas. Anything goes at this point.

2. Narrow it down

Start eliminating the words and phrases that don’t resonate and prioritize the ones that do. Short and catchy is usually best, so start thinking about what will be easy for your average customers to type into an online search or pronounce to a friend. Start checking for domain availability for the best options. (More on this later.) Make sure your final list has at least one very literal name. For example, Five Guys Burgers and Fries says exactly what it sells. To cover another base, make sure you have at least one option that incorporates your name or some other personal detail. (Think of McKinsey and Company, the consulting firm.) Other options you might include are acronyms, as in AT&T, or simple but thought-provoking words, like Google or Apple.

3. Get creative

Words that rhyme or that start with the same letter can be good options. Another may be to make up a word or modify an existing word—either in pronunciation or spelling (think Flickr) to create a brand name that makes people think. Beware of being too offbeat or choosing something that resonates with you but would confound your target audience. Not everyone gets a play on words or a subtle reference. Many times, literal, descriptive brand names of 1 or 2 words work best.

4. Compare and test

Look up your competitors and compare your online store name ideas to theirs. Make sure you can stand out and attract customers away from existing brands rather than appearing to be another cookie-cutter version of similar businesses. Conduct tests with friends to see what resonates with them. Ask if the name embodies the business. Is it easy to pronounce, spell, and remember?

5. Make sure the name you want is available

Besides checking the domain name, check social media platforms to see if your brand name is available as a username. Also, if you’re in the US, check the US Patent and Trademark Office to see if your brand is legally open for you to trademark. Then, make sure to grab your domain name and social media accounts while they’re still available.

6. Register your business

Registering your business makes it a legal company, allowing you to create a brand and build better, more trustworthy relationships with customers. When registering your business, you must choose a business structure. Depending on your business, you may be a sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company (LLC), or C-Corp. This is also the time when you'll register your business name or DBA.

When registering your business, you'll need to register with the IRS, and state and local agencies. The IRS will give you an Employer Identification Number (EIN) for tax purposes. Meanwhile, you'll also need to register with your state, especially if you have employees and will be responsible for payroll taxes.

As you narrow down your choice and finally select a name, there are a few things you may want to keep in mind.

• Avoid alternative spellings that may be hard to remember.
• Don’t choose a name that speaks to limited products or services, in case your business expands or diversifies later.
• Think twice before including place names in your business name if you might expand into a franchise. Also, specific geographic names can give the wrong impression when a store is virtual instead of physical.

How should a domain name relate to a store name?

While much advice suggests that your domain name and store name have to match, the reality is that they don’t. This gives you some freedom if you come up with a really good name only to discover that a domain name that exactly matches it is already taken. What are some pros and cons of having your domain name match your business name?

Pros:

• Improves SEO rankings: Using your business name as your domain name improves the likelihood that you’ll rank in search engines for your business name.
• Promotes brand/store name: You can use your business name as your domain name to promote brand awareness and help customers remember how to find you online.
• Branding: Your business name positions you as a leader in an industry, so keeping it as your domain name can help visitors understand they’re in the right place.

Cons

• Lack of available domains: Business names are usually unique enough that the domain names aren’t taken. Meanwhile, common words are usually already taken, and you’ll have to pay a lot of money to buy them from someone else.
• Hard to remember: Some business names can be difficult to remember. If you tell someone your domain name, they must be able to type it in without asking how to spell it.

Ideally, a domain name should be on the short side, but there are no hard-and-fast rules about specific numbers of characters. You just want your customers to be able to remember it and type it into their browser. Also, the .com extensions are generally preferred because it’s so common and easy to remember, but other extensions are getting more and more popular.

What can you do if you develop the perfect brand name, but the domain is already taken?

• Option 1: Consult your shortlist of names to confirm that you’re committed to the one you’ve chosen. If so, check if the domain name is available with other extensions, such as .store or .net. If you’re OK with an alternate extension and it’s available, you may be able to proceed.
• Option 2: Can you alter the store name slightly to access an available domain name? Or are you comfortable with your domain name not matching your brand name exactly? For example, let’s say you chose Tom’s Hardware as your store name, but someone owns tomshardware.com. There are other available extensions, like tomshardware.biz, but you want a .com domain. What about tomshardwarestore.com? Or tomshardwares.com?
• Option 3: If you just can’t match your brand with the domain you want, can you create a domain name that features a target keyword instead, maximizing SEO rankings? Think of the keywords that embody the intent and focus of your e-commerce store. Is there a specific product that is central to your business? Is there a specific brand featured by your store? Is your store targeting a specific audience? Using the Tom’s Hardware example, what about tomshardwarediy.com or tomshardwaretools.com?

Examples of creative, successful business names

There’s no single formula that defines how to come up with a company name. Often, it’s a combination of thoughtful creativity and gut instinct for what will grab people’s attention. Inspiration can come from anywhere. But when you find the perfect name, you’ll know it.

If you’re still stuck, consider names that have been successful for other online stores to give your own creative search a boost. Here are some inspiring examples.

1. Skullcandy. This well-known online store features innovative headphones and earbuds. You can almost imagine its creator thinking of colorful earbuds as “ear candy.” They pushed their creative process a little further resulting in the much more formidable and memorable Skullcandy.
2. Body Bliss. The store’s About page explains that the name and logo join the physical part of us, our body, with the ethereal part of us, the state of bliss. Two short words, both starting with the letter “b,” with a marriage of concepts create a memorable brand for their target audience.
3. Bon Bon Bon. This store sells artisan candies, especially featuring bonbons. The triple “bon” name is a strategic play on words, bringing to mind the bonbons the store is famous for but also meaning “good good good” in French.
4. Glory Cycles. This business started out just selling bikes but evolved into selling parts, accessories, and apparel. The name struck the perfect balance of specificity and generality—enough for customers to identify their product while allowing for growth.
5. Storq. It’s pronounced like “stork,” and you guessed it, they sell products for pregnant people and new parents. The name accomplishes its goal on two levels: the word “stork” relates to delivering babies, and the alternate spelling makes it fun and modern.
6. Etsy. Here’s an interesting approach: The founder says he was just looking for a nonsense word that wouldn’t limit the growth of the store he was starting from scratch. Various phonetic forms of the word in Latin-based languages mean “what if” or “just because.” His approach was obviously successful—the brand is now internationally recognizable, and it continues to grow.
7. Wish. Condensed from the term “wish list,” Wish is a mobile platform that other businesses can use to sell products. This is a good example of how just one word can embody a whole brand.

Looking at what has been successful for other stores and analyzing what factors led to success can help unlock your creativity and provide you with some direction in your search for the perfect name.

Where can you find inspiration?

Still feel like you lack inspiration? Countless online store name generators can help, but keep in mind that nothing replaces your own creativity. But, online store name generators can help you tap into your own creativity. You can use them to find business names that relate to your industry or by using terms that describe your brands and products.

Don’t be afraid to take your online store name ideas and morph them into something bolder and more daring. Explore keywords, concepts, and your mission statement to allow the ideas to branch out. You never know what you’ll discover.

Business name ideas: FAQs

How do I find a unique brand name?

Finding a unique brand name takes creativity. However, by considering the types of products and services you will sell, you can start to brainstorm different ideas. Remember, your brand name should be unique to your business, and something customers can easily remember. Don’t get too impatient when trying to figure out your brand name. The brand name is one of the most important parts of your messaging when you create a brand, so spend time writing down different ideas and brainstorming.

What are characteristics of a good business name?

A good business name must be authentic and memorable. However, the best brand names evoke emotions and clearly explain what the business sells. Depending on your industry and target audience, your brand name can be funny, playful, or clear and concise. Whatever name you choose, make sure your target audience can spell it. Even if customers usually find you online, your name should still be worthy of word-of-mouth marketing. If potential customers can’t spell your name, they won’t be able to find you online.

What are the different types of business names?

There are many types of business names, including:

• Origin names tell the story of where your business came from and who inspired it.
• Emotive names are built around how you want your customers to feel about your business.
• Descriptive names that describe your business clearly.
• Acronyms can portray your messaging.
• Metaphor names can make your brand more memorable by forcing customers to think.

Build your brand with Mailchimp

Building a successful brand starts with a brand name. If your name isn’t unique and your target audience can’t memorize it, they’ll have a difficult time finding your business online. When considering your business name, think about your industry and the products you sell and how your business name can reflect your mission.

Once you find your gem, waste no time in securing your store name, domain name, and social media accounts. You’re now ready to begin building your brand and e-commerce store. Sign up for Mailchimp’s all-in-one Marketing Platform to set up your store and begin engaging customers.