Did we make a good choice when purchasing this domain name for subdomains?

[maclover001]

Me and a few friends run a small web hosting company called Hamilton Webhosting (my lastname). Because we understand that some people don't want to spend money on a domain name, we decided to purchase a short name for some of our customers to sub off. That name is hhst.me (hamiltonwebhost).

I just want to ask weather you think http://yoursite.hhst.me/ is a good domain alternative or if we should have gone with something else.

Thanks, and sorry if this seems like a spam post.

[miles01110]

it's not necessarily bad, but I probably would have gone with whatever.hamiltonhost.com or something, just so anyone going to that site knows what company is hosting it. hhst is a little abstract.

[maclover001]

it's not necessarily bad, but I probably would have gone with whatever.hamiltonhost.com or something, just so anyone going to that site knows what company is hosting it. hhst is a little abstract.

I know, but short names are good so more focus is put on the user's part. (Plus hhst.me rhymes)

We have hamiltonwebhosting.net for our own site. I suppose we could allow the user to choose from either.

[bruinsrme]

it's not necessarily bad, but I probably would have gone with whatever.hamiltonhost.com or something, just so anyone going to that site knows what company is hosting it. hhst is a little abstract.

i agree.

but would the person have to type in something like thisis mysite.hamiltonhost.com . now the website name is becoming long

[miles01110]

but would the person have to type in something like thisis mysite.hamiltonhost.com . now the website name is becoming long

Bookmarking, "smart" address bars, clickable hyperlink integration with virtually all programs having anything to do with the internet (mail, AIM, twitter, etc), and google have made typing in full web addresses much less common than a few years ago. Not to say it isn't an issue, but it's just not that important these days.

[dmmcintyre3]

Bookmarking, "smart" address bars, clickable hyperlink integration with virtually all programs having anything to do with the internet (mail, AIM, twitter, etc), and google have made typing in full web addresses much less common than a few years ago. Not to say it isn't an issue, but it's just not that important these days.

But it is still easier to type your url if it is short than to google your site.

[miles01110]

But it is still easier to type your url if it is short than to google your site.

Yes, in the absolute sense. But if it's a site you visit frequently you're just going to bookmark it, making the time it takes to type in the address a non-issue.

[bruinsrme]

Bookmarking, "smart" address bars, clickable hyperlink integration with virtually all programs having anything to do with the internet (mail, AIM, twitter, etc), and google have made typing in full web addresses much less common than a few years ago. Not to say it isn't an issue, but it's just not that important these days.

I do not disagree with your philosophy. People buying domain names are used to advanced features but are their family members and so.

For instance
www.scottcarroll.hts.com seems to bea little easier to remember the www.scottcarroll.hamiltonhost.com

If i was to purchase a domain I would mind having a watermark at the top and bottom hosted by www.hamiltonhost.com

[miles01110]

sigh.

Again, that's not really the point. If you visit a site frequently enough, you're going to bookmark it. Plain and simple. People that are less tech-savvy are even more likely to bookmark things.

I could just as well argue that remembering some 3-letter abstraction is in fact not easier than remembering a phrase.

[Yvan256]

Again, that's not really the point. If you visit a site frequently enough, you're going to bookmark it. Plain and simple. People that are less tech-savvy are even more likely to bookmark things.

Actually I find it faster to type "macr" and let safari auto-complete "macrumors.com" then to find it in my bookmarks list. ;)

[tekio]

I would have gone with a .com even if it meant having a slightly longer domain name, plus you're going to loose business to hamiltonwebhosting.com & I certainly wouldn't risk my business by using godaddy.

[bruinsrme]

sigh.

Again, that's not really the point. If you visit a site frequently enough, you're going to bookmark it. Plain and simple. People that are less tech-savvy are even more likely to bookmark things.

I could just as well argue that remembering some 3-letter abstraction is in fact not easier than remembering a phrase.

Ok

[jessica.]

I would have gone with a .com even if it meant having a slightly longer domain name, plus you're going to loose business to hamiltonwebhosting.com & I certainly wouldn't risk my business by using godaddy.Agreed. I wouldn't want a .me domain (I didn't know what it was). Of course a + 1 for the godaddy comment.

[dmmcintyre3]

Actually I find it faster to type "macr" and let safari auto-complete "macrumors.com" then to find it in my bookmarks list. ;)

Yes.

to get to my site I type dmm and it puts in the rest and macrumors I just type mac and it puts in the rest. Apple is just app and then the rest is in.

[needlnerdz]

In all honesty, I'm not sure how useful the whole 'hosting as a subdomain' is these days, unless it is for your own internal offshoots ie. mobile.domain.com or project1.domain.com

- I remember back in the day when one would take advantage of free subdomain offerings from hypermart - but at that time, domainnames cost between $50 - $100/year.

Today I would imagine that anyone who is willing to pay even the most minimal price for hosting, would be more than willing to pay the few dollars [per year] that a domain will cost them, as I pay less than $9/year for mine.

[miles01110]

Actually I find it faster to type "macr" and let safari auto-complete "macrumors.com" then to find it in my bookmarks list. ;)

Bookmarking, "smart" address bars, clickable hyperlink integration with virtually all programs having anything to do with the internet (mail, AIM, twitter, etc), and google have made typing in full web addresses much less common than a few years ago. Not to say it isn't an issue, but it's just not that important these days.

...I know.

[carlosbutler]

i agree with needlnerdz because domain names are so cheap that it doesnt really matter. the only reason i would (and was about to myself) use free subdomains is if i were to offer free hosting and have adverts on the top of every page. but then i couldnt be bothered to set that up:rolleyes:

[dmmcintyre3]

Still if you use a public computer your bookmarks/smart address bars are useless because they are on your computer.

Now I would just do something like co.nr or co.cc (which I did)

[DoFoT9]

sigh.

Again, that's not really the point. If you visit a site frequently enough, you're going to bookmark it. Plain and simple. People that are less tech-savvy are even more likely to bookmark things.

I could just as well argue that remembering some 3-letter abstraction is in fact not easier than remembering a phrase.

a counter arguement would be this::

you want to start a business of some sort and you advertise (whether it be busienss cards, newspaper ads, tv or whatever). people that are interested get a business card/write down the website and go to it to visit it and view your services.

in this scenario i dont really think that a really long website name will prove very promising for the users,
• writing down a long webname could be dedious
• long website names tend to be less attractive with advertising and whatnot
• people dont tend to trust them as much.

the list goes on really, i much prefer the shorter names.

People that are less tech-savvy are even more likely to bookmark things.

i have to say that i disagree with this point, LESS tech savvey people would hardly even be able to navigate the computer/browser let alone use bookmarks and actually remember that they are there. autofill would probably be the best way for them but this section wont apply to my scenario :p