What is the general consensus regarding hyphens in domain names?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2217822

by lowglow • 15 years ago

5 8 15 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I'm working on a project and we're stuck between a really good name with a hyphen, or an OK name with 4 syllables. We're wondering if the hyphen is a death-kiss for domain names.

allwein• 15 years ago

www.penny-arcade.com doesn't seem to have been slowed down by the hyphen.

And I've been going to M-W.com for dictionary lookup for years until they got a better domain name.

Also, why not get both? Brand it with the hyphen name but have the other one redirect.

lowglow4• 15 years ago

Do you know of any hard data that has been collected on how hyphens in domain names affect traffic or user engagement and adoption?

Jsarokin• 15 years ago

Hyphen is death. Have you ever typed in a hyphen? Unless you're getting all your traffic from search then it may be fine.

Imagine users telling each other in person. Then the person almost always will forget to add the "dash" when they type it in.

Id say keep coming up with names for go with the 4 syllables.

lowglow4• 15 years ago

I agree, but some of our advisors like the dash name better than the four syllable one. Mainly because the four syllable one isn't actionable and starts with an 'O'. They said you want to either have your name at the top or bottom of any alphabetical list.

On my iphone I have to flip to another keyboard just to find the dash. It took me 2 seconds to find it. This is just another step a user has to take to get to our destination.

homecoded• 15 years ago

We actually talked about this today in our team since we are trying to find a good name for the new company we are about to form. We decided against hyphens mostly because we thought it's 'just not cool'.

There are other things to consider. If you spell out your domain name over the phone, a not-so-techie person might not know what to do when you say 'hyphen' (as in spell it out or use "-").

Besides, since the word 'hyphen' is usually only used when you spell out the domain (it's not actually part of the company name) people will probably forget about it.

lowglow4• 15 years ago

The phone test -- we talked about this as well. Dash, hyphen, and minus sign are all bad descriptors for lay-people.

lowglow4• 15 years ago

Also, let me preface this by saying the people that like the hyphen are the same people that would give us money.

rjdempsey• 15 years ago

I'd avoid hyphens when selecting domain names. How many of the really popular domains have hyphens? Not many.

What is the general consensus regarding hyphens in domain names?

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