

Ask HN: Domain Hack OK when .com not available? - taterbase

I'm curious what the current opinion is on using a domain hack when you can't get the .com for your startup.
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byoung2
I would only go with a domain hack if the .com is also available. A certain
portion of users will type in the .com version, and if you are popular enough,
the owner of the .com might be malicious enough to capitalize on it. e.g.
<http://del.icio.us> forwards to <http://delicious.com/>, but imagine what
would happen if they didn't own the .com.

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arn
I agree with you, but in the example you gave, del.icio.us didn't own
delicious.com until much later.

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byoung2
I'm sure they paid dearly for it too...better to get the .com upfront

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csense
IMHO, building a solid product that people want to buy is more important than
your exact domain name.

If you disagree with this philosophy and choose a marketing strategy that
depends on getting a strategic domain, you should have your domain in hand
early on -- _before_ you announce the product, so everything you have to say
about it points to the same URL.

Also, if you're willing to be flexible about renaming the product to match the
available domains, you can circumvent the whole mess.

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justhw
Stick with dot com by prepending or appending words or letters. For example
eYoursite.com or getyourApp.com etc..

If you plan to go with a .net or .org, in most cases you will have to include
the tld's with your logos, but not with dot.com unless generic.

Also, I don't recommend domains like .io and .ly unless your site is targeted
towards devs/techi people. A while ago there was a site: foundat.io/n . That
is extreme domain hacking.

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timjahn
Unless your site is for people who know what a "domain hack" is, you need a
.com domain. People in the real world either go directly to the .com version
or Google it. They're not going to remember your name or domain name if it's
something impossible to remember like iluv.che.er.ios.

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asargent
Might want to avoid .co -- I have found .co to be problematic for my
customers. Because it's so close to ".com", I am constantly explaining "it's
.co, no m at the end like .com".

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natsu90
Unless your targeting customer is techie people. Non-tech people don't know
any other tld beside .com

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x64arm
What do you mean by domain hack?

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citricsquid
A "domain hack" is when you include the extension as part of the domain. For
example if "hackernews.com" was taken you might use "hackerne.ws".

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shloime
I think it depends on your target demographic and marketing strategy.

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chunkyslink
What do you mean by: ok?

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taterbase
Apologies, I should have been clearer on that. I mean do you think using a
domain hack instead of a .com can impede or prevent success?

