Domain Names That Read Badly Without Spaces

The name that changes without its spaces

A domain name cannot contain spaces, so a business name of three words becomes one long run of letters.

Most names survive that. Some do not: the end of one word joins the start of the next and forms a different word, sometimes funny, sometimes unfortunate.

Owners rarely notice, because they read their own name the way they say it. Customers read the letters in front of them.

The time to catch it is before the domain goes on the sign, the van and the menus.

How names go wrong

• A new word across the join, as when now here becomes nowhere.
• A final s that joins the next word, as when men's wear becomes men swear.
• Doubled letters at the join, which people type only once.
• Ambiguous splits that make a reader stop and read again.
• Words that only worked in the logo's capitals or colours.

The second is the most common, because so many business names contain a plural or a possessive. An s at the end of one word is free to start the next.

Read it like a stranger

Write the domain exactly as it will be typed, in lowercase with no spaces, and show it to someone with no connection to the business.

Ask them to read it aloud. If they hesitate, split it somewhere unexpected or laugh, you have your answer.

Then read it inside an email address. Many people will first meet your domain after an @ sign, in a sender's line or a signature.

Repeat the test for every domain you hold, including the .ca and .com versions if you own both.

Say it over the phone

Domains are heard as well as seen. Read yours aloud to someone on the phone and ask them to type it.

Listen for words with two spellings, numbers that could be digits or words, and letters people double or drop.

A name that has to be spelled out on every call costs a little time on every call, for as long as you keep it.

Capitals in print

Domain names are not case-sensitive. You can print one with every word capitalised, and it still works when typed in lowercase.

Printing the first part as NowHere rather than nowhere shows the reader where the words break. Use capitals on signs, cards, vehicles, menus and ads.

But capitals cannot follow the domain everywhere. Browsers, search results and email programs usually show it in lowercase, and people type it that way.

So capitals soften the problem in print. They do not remove it.

A worked example

A wine bar named after the pair of old oaks outside its door opened in a converted storefront on a neighbourhood shopping street.

The owners registered the full name as a domain in a hurry before opening, and it went on the menus, the chalkboard outside and every business card.

Run together, the letters of oaks and wine read just as easily as oak swine. Regulars noticed within weeks, and the joke soon turned up on a local food blog.

The owners had only ever seen the name with spaces, or in the logo's two-colour lettering, where it read correctly. Nobody had looked at the bare domain as a stranger would.

They registered a shorter domain without the word wine, which split cleanly, and moved the website and email to it. The old domain redirects permanently, so every printed menu still works.

New menus and cards print the address with capitals, and the old email addresses forward to the new ones while customers and suppliers update their contacts.

Choosing an alternative

A name that reads badly does not mean renaming the business. There are several ways round it.

Drop a word, as long as what remains still identifies you. Add a word, such as the town or the trade, if it changes the join. Or reorder the words.

A hyphen at the bad join fixes the reading, at the cost of being awkward to say aloud and easy to leave out.

Whatever you choose, run the stranger test again before buying it.

Keep both and redirect one

If the awkward domain is already printed, keep it. Move the site to the alternative and redirect the old domain permanently, so links, cards and search results all arrive in the same place.

A permanent redirect tells search engines the address has moved for good, so the new domain inherits the old one's standing over time.

Renew both. A lapsed domain can be registered by anyone, and one that reads as a joke is exactly the kind someone may want.

Email is the slow part

A website can move in an afternoon. Email addresses live on in customers' contacts, suppliers' systems and printed material for years.

Move the mailboxes to the new domain, forward the old addresses for at least a year, and reply from the new ones so people's address books update.

Test the forwarding before announcing the change.

Social names run together too

The same problem follows the name onto social media. Facebook page addresses, Twitter handles and Instagram names drop the spaces as well, and Instagram names are always lowercase.

Check each one with the stranger test, and keep them close to the domain where you can, so customers do not learn three different spellings of one business.

The counter-case

Most names read perfectly well run together, and the check takes a minute. If yours passes, there is nothing to change.

A mild ambiguity nobody has ever remarked on may not justify a second domain, especially for an established business that customers find by name.

Otherwise, read it as a stranger would, print it with capitals, and choose a cleaner alternative before it goes on anything permanent.

Before you register

1. Type the domain in lowercase, without spaces.
2. Ask a stranger to read it aloud.
3. Read it inside an email address.
4. Say it on the phone and have it typed.
5. Try alternatives that change the bad join.
6. Print it with capitals between words.
7. Redirect any old domain permanently to the new one.

Step two catches what owners cannot. Nobody reads their own name without already knowing where the words break, which is exactly the knowledge a customer lacks.

Moving email onto the domain you settle on is covered in a business email address at the internet provider.

Frequently asked questions

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.