Mistakes businesses make with domains before they ever launch a page.
Field Note #023
🟢 Beginner⏱ 30 Minutes✓ Industry Best Practice
It’s Domain Name Friday — and this week we’re talking about the mistakes businesses make with domains before they ever launch a page. Three come up constantly: 1. Buying the domain after naming the brand. Most people pick a name, build an identity around it, then discover the .com is taken or listed for thousands on the aftermarket. Check availability before you commit to anything — logo, cards, socials, all of it. 2. Registering with a personal email. Your domain is tied to whatever account you use to register it. If that email gets hacked, lost, or simply abandoned — recovering your domain can be a long, expensive fight. Use a dedicated business email from day one. 3. Letting auto-renew lapse. Domains expire quietly. When they do, they’re back in the pool — and domain squatters watch expiry lists. A $15/year renewal fee can become a $2,000 ransom before you even notice it’s gone. All three are avoidable. None of them are obvious until it’s too late.