To have a website, everyone must have a domain name as well. We always suggest you buy the domain name yourself. We also strongly believe that the domain name should be the same as your business name. We have heard horror stories of web designers who hold domain names hostage, which is so upsetting to us and very unethical. We would never do that. The other reason we say to buy it yourself is because God forbid we were to get hit by a bus tomorrow, you would have to go through some hoops to get possession of your domain, and we wouldn’t want you to have to do that either.
We also feel that having your domain name being your business name is vital. If you are wearing a company shirt, have your company vehicles driving around town with your logo or name all over them, or at a networking group and tell everyone your company name, are they going to do a search for your company name to find you online, or say perhaps “Web Designer in Chandler.” You are branding your company with the company name, not where you are located or what your service is. You could always add or delete services, but having your company name stay constant is important for credibility. The longer the domain is around, the better too!
Also be careful when searching for domain names. If you go and look, be ready to buy at the same time. We have had it in the past where someone has looked up a couple of names they were considering, did not buy at the time, and went back a day later to find the domain name was no longer available. I can not confirm it, but we feel there are ways to track what names are being searched, and if they are not purchased at the time of the search, these re-sell companies go in and buy them so they can try and re-sell the name to you at a MUCH higher price. Please do not fall for that!
If you ever have any questions, we are here to help!