You choose a domain once, and then spend years spelling it out over the phone, printing it on business cards and putting it on every invoice. A poor choice is not a disaster, but it is a permanent small obstacle: spelling it letter by letter, lost email, visitors landing at a competitor with a similar name.
Here are seven rules we give clients when choosing a domain — and an answer to the eternal question: .si or .com?
1. For the Slovenian market, choose .si
If you do business mainly in Slovenia, .si is the first choice: it signals local presence to visitors and tells Google clearly which market the site serves, which helps in local searches. A .com domain makes sense as an addition (redirected to .si), or as the primary one if you are seriously targeting international markets.
Good practice: register both, use one. A cost of a few tens of euros a year is cheap insurance against somebody else taking the .com version of your name.
2. Shorter is better — and it has to survive a phone call
The test is simple: say the domain out loud to a stranger over the phone. If they have to ask you to spell it, it is too complicated. Aim for two words, three at most, and under twenty characters.
3. No special characters, and be careful with hyphens
Accented characters in domains technically exist, but in practice they cause more trouble than they are worth — email, foreign systems, keyboards. A hyphen is acceptable when it genuinely improves readability (my-company.si), but expect a share of people to forget it.
4. Company name or line of work? Think about both
A domain with your company name builds a brand and survives any change in what you do. A descriptive domain says immediately what you offer and helps slightly with recognition in search results. In practice a short name combined with the line of work works best — as long as it stays easy to say.
Do not fall for the myth that a descriptive domain alone gets you to the top of Google: rankings are built by content, technical quality and links, not by the domain itself.
5. Check the name is free — legally as well
Before you get attached to a name, check that the domain is available (register.si for .si), and also whether somebody already uses the name as a company or a trademark. Check social media handles too — one consistent name everywhere is worth more than a perfect domain with a taken Instagram account.
6. The domain should be yours, not your developer's
The most important rule, and the one many people learn too late: the domain should be registered to your company, not to a supplier or "a friend who set up the site". If you and the supplier part ways, a domain in someone else's name is a long and unpleasant complication.
We register domains in the client's name; if we manage it, that is a management service — ownership stays with you. The same applies with website rental.
Tip: Check who your existing domain is registered to today — for .si domains a lookup on register.si takes a minute.
7. Do not forget renewals
An expired domain means your site and email stop working, and in the worst case a reseller picks it up once it lapses. Turn on automatic renewal, or leave management to somebody who watches the dates. The annual cost of a .si domain is around €15–20 — the cheapest insurance for your web address.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a domain cost?
A .si domain costs roughly €15–20 a year and .com is similar. At GE-KO domain renewal is €16 + VAT a year, and with website rental the domain is already included.
Does changing domain hurt my Google ranking?
Changing domain is a significant move — with correct 301 redirects and notifying Google it can be done without major damage, but do not undertake it without a real reason.
I already have a domain with another provider. Can you transfer it?
Yes, transferring a domain to another registrar is a standard procedure and we handle it along with the other technical details.