.co.uk, .uk or .com: which domain should you choose?

Your domain is your address online. It goes on your shop sign, your van, your business cards and your email, so it's worth a few minutes' thought.

Quick rules of thumb

• .co.uk tells customers you're a UK business, and it's the one most people in the UK expect.
• .com is the most widely recognised worldwide, and is a good choice if you sell beyond the UK.
• .uk is shorter, but fewer people type it by habit.
• Keep it short, easy to spell and easy to say out loud over the phone.
• Avoid hyphens and numbers if you can; they're easy to get wrong.

Grab more than one

If your name is free as both .co.uk and .com, it's often worth registering both and pointing one at the other. It stops anyone else taking it and catches customers who guess the wrong ending.