The right domain name for your business is short, easy to say and spell, free of hyphens and digits, and not somebody else's trademark. For a business selling in India, start with the .in and add the .com if you can. This page gives you the short version; the full method, with a scoring sheet and every check, is in our main guide.
Read How to choose the right domain name for your business. It covers brainstorming, a 12-point scoring sheet, keywords versus brand names, every extension decision and how to register the name properly.
Pick a name customers already use for you, under fifteen characters before the dot, that passes the phone test: read it aloud and someone can type it first time. Register the .in first (₹575 to register, ₹625 to renew) and add the .com (₹1,150 a year) if you can afford the insurance. Before you pay, search the Trade Marks Registry, Google the name and check your social handles.
1. What makes a business domain work
- It matches what customers call you. If people say "Meera's Kitchen", the domain should contain those words.
- It is short and sayable. Aim for under fifteen characters before the dot and two words at most.
- It passes the phone test. Read it aloud to someone who has never seen it. If they hesitate, or two people write two spellings, keep looking.
- It is clean. No hyphens, no digits, no deliberate misspellings such as "kwik", and no year or passing trend.
- It is a brand, not a keyword string. Search engines give the words in a domain very little weight on their own. Put the brand in the domain and the keywords on your pages.
2. Choose the extension
| Extension | Register (first year) | Renew (each year) | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| .in | ₹575 | ₹625 | Any business whose customers are in India |
| .co.in | ₹475 | ₹525 | Indian companies; the cheapest of the family |
| .com | ₹1,150 | ₹1,150 | Customers outside India, and the extension people type by default |
Domain India list prices on 19 September 2026, per year, excluding 18% GST. Choose a newer extension such as .shop or .tech only when the word is genuinely part of your brand, and read the renewal price before you pay for year one.
3. Run these checks before you pay
- Check both extensions at once.Search the name at domain registration. Short of ideas? The AI Domain Advisor suggests available names from a description of your business.
- Search the Trade Marks Registry.Use the Indian Trade Marks Registry public search for the word part of your name, in your class of goods or services.
- Google the name.If the first page of results is another business with the same name, customers will confuse you.
- Check the social handlesyou will actually use.
- Look up who holds it, if it is taken.A WHOIS lookup shows whether the name is parked or in use.
Registering a domain gives you the right to use the name while you renew it. If it copies someone else's registered trademark in the same line of business, the owner can take it from you through a dispute process, even if you registered first. Walk away from names containing a bank, a well-known company or a close copy of a competitor.
4. Protect the name once you have it
- Register it in the business's name, with an email address that will still be read in five years.
- Register for two or three years. The price per year is the same, and it removes the risk of a missed renewal email.
- Take the obvious variants. The .in plus the .com is the usual pair; add a common misspelling only if real people actually produce it. Point every extra domain at your main website.
- Finish .in verification straight away. .in domains need identity verification (eKYC) before they work reliably; see Mandatory KYC for .IN domains.
For .in and its second-level extensions (.co.in, .net.in, .org.in and others), personal registrant details are not shown in public WHOIS. This is free and automatic; there is nothing to switch on.
Frequently asked questions
Should an Indian business choose .in or .com?
Choose .in first if your customers are in India. It costs ₹575 to register and ₹625 a year to renew, against ₹1,150 a year for .com. Add the .com when you sell outside India or want to stop anyone else using your name there. Prices are Domain India list prices on 19 September 2026 and exclude 18% GST.
How long should a business domain name be?
Under fifteen characters before the dot, and two words at most. Shorter names are easier to say, type and remember, but a clear two-word name beats a short one nobody can spell.
Does a keyword in my domain help my Google ranking?
Very little on its own. Search engines rank pages on content, relevance and links, not on the words in the domain. A short brand name with strong pages beats a long keyword domain with thin ones.
What should I do if the name I want is already taken?
Try the .co.in or another extension, add a short descriptive word, or use a WHOIS lookup to see whether the holder is trading. A parked name may be for sale; an active business with the same name is a reason to choose differently.
Is a domain registration refundable?
No. Once the name is created with the registry in your name, the fee is non-refundable. Run the trademark, Google and handle checks before you pay.
Ready to register your domain?
Check your name on .in and .com side by side at domain registration, let the AI Domain Advisor suggest available names, or read the full guide first. Our team is on live chat and tickets around the clock if you want a second opinion.
Search once and see the Indian and global extensions together, and register from a NIXI-accredited .IN registrar.
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