The right Internet address
Choosing the right domain name is a key success factor on the Internet. To be found on the Internet, you need a memorable, logical website address. The simpler and more obvious the name, the faster you will be found and the easier it will be for people to remember the address.
Three important principles
- Choose a domain name that is relevant to the content of your website or choose the name of an existing company or club/association.
- The name should be short and succinct so it is easy to remember.
- Avoid using numbers, these often lead to misunderstanding.
Rules for domain names
- Capitalization is ignored (www.MySite.ch is identical to www.mysite.ch)
- The minimum length depends on the selected top-level domain. For a .ch domain, the minimum length is 3 characters and the maximum length is 63 characters.
- The only allowed special character is a hyphen "-". The domain name is not allowed to start or end with "-". beginnen, noch enden.
Reserving name variants
For domain names that can be written in different ways (for example with or without a hyphen) or that are often written incorrectly, we recommend reserving all possible variants. This also applies to abbreviations of the domain name. Simply redirect these name variants to your main domain name.
Choosing a domain extension
Top-level domain is often abbreviated to TLD or is simply referred to as the domain extension. This is the part of the domain name to the right of the last dot. The .ch in www.green.ch for example. There are two different types of extensions.
Generic top-level domains (gTLD): general domains such as .com, .biz, .info, .net, and .org, as well as all new top-level domains such as .restaurant, .realestate, and .cool.
Country-code top-level domains (ccTLD): all domains that are assigned to a specific country, such as .ch, .li, .fr, .at, and .de.