Last updated Jul 23, 2024 and written by Tom Richardson

1 in 5 Businesses don't secure their domain name before registering their limited company

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Did you know 54% of small businesses have not registered their company name on either Facebook or Twitter?

We, names.co.uk, recently undertook some research on businesses which showed some concerning results.

1 in 4 (28%) small business owners wait months after registering their company name to register their domain name which increases the risk of losing their preferred .com or .co.uk web address. 1 in 5 (22%) actually lose their preferred name and have to settle for a name not related to their company. We’ve partnered with Companies Made Simple to provide you with a free .co.uk domain name when you form a UK Limited Company ensuring you won’t be one of those who lose out.

Before you register your company name, check that your preferred domain name is available. Out of 2,079 business owners, we found that many are startlingly relaxed about owning their online brand – coming to regret this later on when they miss out. Two thirds of business owners (63%) admit they registered their company name after establishing their business. Even many .com savvy firms established in the past 3 years missed the boat.

Stephen Ewart, Marketing Manager for names.co.uk explained: “Most companies make the mistake of acknowledging how important their company name is to the success of their business. This attributes to the huge number of people registering their business name at Companies House, without even thinking to check for their domain name first. Your domain name is more important these days than your mobile or telephone number, so it is a big oversight to not check for this first. Customers will search for your .com or .co.uk name every single day, so not owning the domain is a real issue.”

Other key breakdowns from the research include:

• 84% of small businesses launch their website within 3 months of their company, with 12% building their website in a day.
• 10% of small businesses take over a year to get a website online.
• Just a quarter (27%) of businesses have registered Facebook and Twitter accounts, where as 54% have registered neither.