Short answer: the best domain for an escort website is your working name, or your working name plus a short word such as your city, ending in .com. Keep it short, easy to spell and free of hyphens and numbers. Before you buy, check what it costs to renew, not just the first year, and make sure it isn't registered in your legal name where anyone can look it up.
Your domain is the one part of your website that's hard to change later. It's printed on your profiles, saved in clients' phones and built up in Google over time. So it's worth ten minutes of thought before you choose.
What makes a good domain name
Short and easy to spell
Clients will type it, often on a phone, sometimes from memory. Every extra letter is a chance for a typo. If you have to spell it out when you say it aloud, it's probably too complicated.
Your working name, nothing else
The simplest domains are just your working name: yourname.com. If that's taken, add one short, relevant word:
- Your city or area: yournamelondon.com
- A simple descriptor: yournameofficial.com, meetyourname.com
- Your full working name, if you use a first and last working name
Avoid words that may date badly, like a neighbourhood you might move from or a year.
No hyphens or numbers
Hyphens and numbers are easy to forget and hard to say out loud. "Your name, hyphen, London" or "is that the number 2 or the word?" lose people. If the only version available needs a hyphen, try another word combination instead.
Not explicit, and not someone else's
Keep it non-explicit. Explicit words in a domain can stop your link from being shared on some platforms and in some messaging previews. And don't use another person's or company's name or brand, including well-known directory names. It confuses visitors and can lead to a dispute.
Matching social handles
Check whether the same name is free on the social networks you use. Having your domain and your handles match makes you easier to find and recognise.
.com, .co.uk or something else?
| Ending | Good for | Things to know |
|---|---|---|
| .com | Recognised everywhere, including by visitors from abroad | The most popular ending, so short names are often taken |
| .co.uk and .uk | Signals a UK business | Check the registration rules and what's shown in public records |
| New endings (.london, .me and others) | Creative names when the .com is taken | Some are much more expensive to renew, and some visitors find them less familiar |
For most independents, .com is the safest choice. It's what people type by default, and it works just as well if you travel or have clients from abroad. Bijou Page mainly registers .com domains for our clients.
The costs to check before you buy
Renewal price, not just the first year
Many domains are cheap, or even free, in the first year and cost more from year two. Always ask for the renewal price. A domain you can't afford to renew is a domain you'll lose, along with everything you've built on it.
Premium domains
Some short or popular names are sold as "premium" domains for much more than the normal price, sometimes every year. If the name you want is listed as premium, it's usually better to choose a different combination.
Privacy
When a domain is registered, the registrar records who owns it. Depending on the ending and the registrar, some of those details may be public or available on request. If you register it yourself, find out what's shown and whether privacy protection is included or extra.
Who should own your domain?
This question matters more than the name itself.
- If you register it yourself, you own it outright, but your details are on the registration and you're responsible for renewing it every year. If you forget, it can expire and someone else can buy it.
- If a designer registers it for you, check whose name it's in. Some designers keep domains in their own account and charge to release them.
- If an all-in-one service manages it, check what happens when you leave. You should be able to take your domain with you.
At Bijou Page we buy your domain and register it in our name, so your legal name and address stay out of public domain records. A domain costing up to £15 a year is included in the £65 yearly price. If the one you want costs more, we tell you before you pay. If you leave, we transfer the domain to you free of charge, so it's never held hostage.
A quick way to choose
- Write down your working name and three or four short variations (with your city, "official", "meet").
- Remove any with hyphens, numbers or tricky spellings.
- Say each one out loud. Keep the ones that are easy to understand first time.
- Check which are available as a .com, and what they cost to renew.
- Check the matching social handles.
- Pick the shortest one left.
When you've chosen, use it everywhere: your social bios, your directory profiles and your messaging apps. See how to get your escort website found on Google for why that matters, and how to keep your real name private for the rest of your setup.